Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially by Scott Sundquist, and later by Matt Cameron in 1986. Yamamoto left in 1989 and was replaced initially by Jason Everman and shortly thereafter by Ben Shepherd. Soundgarden disbanded in 1997 and reformed in 2010. Following Cornell's death in 2017, Thayil declared in October 2018 that Soundgarden had disbanded a second time. The surviving members of the band have since continued to occasionally work together, including reuniting for a one-off concert in tribute to Cornell in January 2019, then again in December 2024 for a benefit concert in Seattle, with Shaina Shepherd on vocals, under the anagram Nudedragons, and for Soundgarden's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2025, joined by Taylor Momsen and Brandi Carlile on vocals.
Soundgarden was one of the pioneers of grunge music, a style of alternative rock that developed in the American Pacific Northwest in the mid-1980s, and helped to popularize it in the early 1990s, alongside such Seattle contemporaries as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. They were the first of a number of grunge bands to sign to the Seattle-based record label Sub Pop, through which they released two EPs: Screaming Life (1987) and Fopp (1988). Soundgarden's debut album, Ultramega OK, was also released in 1988 by the Los Angeles-based independent label SST Records; although the album did not sell well nationally, it garnered critical acclaim and the band's first Grammy Award nomination. Soundgarden was the first grunge band to be signed to a major label when they signed to A&M Records in 1988. The release of their second album, Louder Than Love (1989), was the band's first album to enter the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 108, and spawned two radio hits: "Hands All Over" and "Loud Love".