( CNN ) -- `` I only ever really wanted a break/I 've been away for too long , '' Chris Cornell sings on the new Soundgarden album , `` King Animal , '' out November 13 . It 's the band 's first all-new album since 1996 's `` Down On the Upside '' and its breakup in 1997 , so the lyric feels more like a status report . `` Is it a statement ? '' Cornell asked with a laugh . `` Or is it more of a coincidence ? Probably more of a coincidence . But it does seem obvious , does n't it ? '' Although Nirvana imploded with Kurt Cobain 's death in 1994 and Pearl Jam kept trucking through the 2000s -- celebrating its 20th anniversary last year -- Soundgarden predates both grunge pioneers , even though the band found mainstream popularity only in those bands ' wake , hitting a commercial peak in 1994 with the album `` Superunknown . '' `` We formed in 1984 , eight years before the world knew what Seattle was , '' Cornell said . `` I 'm just waiting for the Rock ' n ' Roll Hall of Fame to call up and say , 'Here 's your induction . ' We can do it for the 30th anniversary , I suppose . '' Soundgarden 's breakup was n't anything unusual , Cornell said . No one died ; no one stole someone 's wife . `` No one lost an arm , '' he said . `` It was just time for a break . '' Now , after he 's explored a different avenue of music with his three solo albums , some Temple of the Dog reunions and Audioslave , the revamped Soundgarden has a new focus , aided by Cornell 's sobriety . ( He went into rehab after Audioslave 's first tour . ) Reminded of a post-Soundgarden party where he was spotted double-fisting champagne bottles , the singer laughed . `` Not just one . I needed more than one . '' There is one lyrical reference to Soundgarden 's time away from the rock arena , but you wo n't find any other explicit mentions of the band 's breakup or of bygone fame on `` King Animal , '' which Cornell said would be `` inappropriate . '' `` If this were an Eminem record , he would rap about what it all means , what he thinks about the last record , what he 's doing now , and we do n't do that , '' Cornell said . `` That 's a different culture , to talk about you and then you talk about you some more and then when you 're done , how you 're selling so many records . I get that , but it 's a little strange . '' Even though the rock world has changed since the '90s , Cornell says nothing has changed for Soundgarden during the band 's time away , which ended in 2010 with some studio sessions , a compilation album ( `` Telephantasm '' ) and , most recently , a song on `` The Avengers '' soundtrack ( `` Live to Rise '' ) . `` I guess if anything , we 've reverted back to the way we operated as an indie band , '' Cornell said . `` We acted like free agents . And we can do that now , like we did then , because the music business has changed so much . '' Lamenting the loss of importance of music videos and rock radio play , Cornell acknowledged that it would n't be quite so easy for a new band to just put out an album and expect any fanfare . Then again , when Soundgarden started out as an indie band -- before becoming the first grunge group to sign to a major label , one year before Nirvana did -- success was based on `` touring in a van and playing little clubs all over the U.S. , Canada and Europe , again and again . '' ( It 's a fact that may be acknowledged on the track `` Been Away Too Long '' : `` You can walk a million miles and get nowhere . '' ) `` It would n't be the same environment if we were just starting out now , '' Cornell said . `` We 're an established , well-known band and pioneers of a benchmark cultural shift in rock and pop music , so we have that ( in our favor ) . But all the differences with video play and rock radio networks shrinking keeps you honest , and in a sense , it 's healthier and better for fans . '' More than ever , Cornell said , Soundgarden wanted to make an album that was consistent with the aesthetic values he developed from listening to bands as a teenager . `` When I was 16 years old and somebody I trusted recommended an album , I would have to go and find it , '' he recalled . `` And oftentimes , those albums were n't easy to find . You might search for a year for it , and then you might have to save up to buy it . And then , if I took it home and did n't love it on the first listen , I would listen to it again and again , because I wanted to like it . I put considerable energy into it . '' Likewise , `` King Animal '' can mean different things to different people on subsequent listens . `` It becomes your projection , '' Cornell said . `` Your life is an opera , and this can be the soundtrack of your life . '' Listen to `` King Animal '' after Superstorm Sandy in New York , for instance , and someone might sense a storm raging in Cornell 's wailings and the band 's arrangements and complicated time signatures , how the mood darkens and saddens as each song progresses , drawing the listener deeper into tracks such as `` Bones of Birds , '' the ode to nature `` Taree , '' the water-logged `` Rowing '' and the comfort-seeking `` Black Saturday '' ( `` I was thirsty , and you gave me water/I was crying , I remember you gave me your shoulder '' ) . Cornell offers minimal explanation for these songs , because he wants fans to come up with their own meanings . `` If I write a song and put it out there , it 's not mine anymore , '' he said . `` It takes on a life of its own , and when you listen to it , it becomes your song . And over the course of generations , those meanings will change . I might have created it , but I have no control over how it evolves . But without being able to define what each fan wants , we have to look at it as , Do we like this ? We have to please each other , because if we like it , Soundgarden fans will love it . And I think the hardcore fans are going to feel like we brought it . I 'm more confident of that now than with any other album . ''
Soundgarden 's new album , ` ` ' Animal , '' is out November 2008 . It 's the band 's first all - new album since ' 96 's ` ` Down On the Farm '' and its ' 97 breakup . 1997 's breakup was n't anything unusual : ` ` It was just time for a break ''