In 1990, Temple of the Dog were formed.
Established by Chris Cornell, the band was intended to be a tribute to the late Andrew Wood, lead singer of early grunge bands Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone, and close friend of Cornell.
With Cornell on vocals, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, along with bassist Jeff Ament and drummer Matt Cameron, made up the rest of the band. All would find mainstream success with other projects: Cornell with Soundgarden, the rest with Pearl Jam.
Temple of the Dog only released one album, Temple of the Dog. It didn’t receive much attention upon its initial release, but had a late surge following Pearl Jam’s breakthrough success in 1992, hitting number five in the US.
One song in particular, Hunger Strike, has had a life beyond the ’90s.
Unlike many of the great grunge singles that would follow it, Hunger Strike is a slow-burning duet between Cornell and soon-to-be Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.
The track became a springboard for Vedder, his first starring role on a record, with his low, wearied voice playing counterpoint to Cornell, but it’s the Soundgarden frontman that you simply can’t ignore on this record.
As you will now know, Cornell has just passed away. Fans are mourning the loss of the one of the figureheads of grunge and arguably one rock’s greatest voices, and few songs demonstrate it better than Hunger Strike.
Cornell’s voice is so strong and clear, yet so controlled that you almost don’t realise its power. It’s both smooth and rough, like silk and sand.
On Hunger Strike, his rich, resonant midrange is suddenly cleared off the table with explosive highs, a kind of operatic chainsaw. In any other context it would be a case of ‘just because you can doesn’t mean you should’, but here it’s the centrepiece, and one that floors you completely.
