When Chris Cornell died aged 52 in May 2017, alternative music lost not just one of its most distinctive voices, but one of its most charismatic frontpeople and introspective lyricists. While it’s impossible for anyone to fill the void that the Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple Of The Dog frontman left behind, a new, star-studded project is sustaining his legacy, releasing covers to raise money for charity.
Members of Mastodon, Alice In Chains and even Soundgarden themselves have already taken part in King Ultramega, corralled by Metal Allegiance ringleader and decades-long Cornell fan Mark Menghi.
“I was a pre-teen when I came across [Soundgarden’s 1988 debut album] Ultramega OK at a record store,” the bassist tells Metal Hammer. “Since finding that cassette, Chris has been one of the few musical constants that I can remember. It’s his voice – he’s the voice, right? But also his songwriting. I always felt connected to the things he was saying.”
Named after Soundgarden’s debut and their 2012 swansong King Animal, King Ultramega started out of lockdown-era boredom. Mark reached out to Mastodon guitarist and fellow New Yorker Bill Kelliher, asking if he wanted to jam. They agreed to cover Rusty Cage from 1991’s Badmotorfinger, with Anthrax drummer and former Metal Allegiance collaborator Charlie Benante quickly signing on as well.
Bill got his friend William DuVall, from Soundgarden’s Seattle peers Alice In Chains, to handle lead vocals. Then, the guitarist sent the finished track to Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil. Thayil was so touched that he recorded a short intro for the YouTube video, saying, “I approve this message.”
“I think he took a liking to what I was doing because it was pure,” Mark responds today. “It came from the heart. It was built as a fan, for fans, to keep this music going.”
After the cover was released in October 2020, it inspired global headlines and was met with a wave of YouTube comments, many talking about how greatly Chris was missed. The musician’s widow, Vicky, even messaged Mark thanking him for doing it. Naturally, the bassist was bowled over.
“If you’d have asked me, even after the release of Rusty Cage, if we would be sitting here talking about this as a project, I’d have laughed,” he says. “And then, you just read the comments from people who miss Chris and his music. It was just like, ‘Man, it would be cool to do a few more songs of Chris’s.’”
I kept asking myself, ‘Do I really want to cross this line?’
Mark Menghi
Spurred by all the goodwill, Mark got Charlie to track drums for a number of other covers, and he asked Kim to record new guitar tracks of his own songs, too. But, when the time came to find new vocalists and actually put out more material, he got cold feet, putting too much pressure on himself to live up to Chris’s standard. King Ultramega would lay dormant for four years.
“I kept asking myself, ‘Do I really want to cross this line?’ And, ‘If you’re going to do this, it better be fucking good!’” he remembers. “You don’t hear a lot of people cover Chris Cornell, and there’s a reason for that. It’s very hard to replicate what he does, let alone try to make it your own thing.”
The bassist rediscovered his mojo after some, in his words, “poking” from Kim. He signed a deal with Reigning Phoenix Music (home of Kerry King, Opeth and Meshuggah) and ensured that all proceeds from the project would go to MusiCares: a charity dedicated to providing mental health and addiction recovery services for people in the music industry.
“That was one of my stipulations,” Mark explains. “If this is going to happen, it has to be about Chris. It has to be about raising awareness for mental health.”
King Ultramega relaunched by reissuing Rusty Cage in July 2025. In September, they put out a cover of Audioslave’s Be Yourself featuring drummer Kenny Aronoff and guitar great Joe Satriani, who used his chops to recreate Chris’s vocal melodies. Then came a take on Temple Of The Dog’s Say Hello 2 Heaven with Richie Kotzen in October, followed by a version of Soundgarden’s The Day I Tried To Live featuring Kim and ex-Arch Enemy singer Alissa White-Gluz.
It has to be about raising awareness for mental health
Mark Menghi
Right now, the end goal for Mark is making a Chris Cornell tribute album, which he hopes will come out in late 2026. He’s tight-lipped about who else he wants to collaborate with, but he lets slip that there’ll be contributions from the other surviving members of Soundgarden, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron. He also reveals that “seeds have been planted” for live performances, although they sound like they’re a way away.
“We’re honouring a legend,” the bassist says. “My hope is that someone hears the music and understands that, if someone needs help, there are people who want to help. You’re not alone out there. If this money helps somebody, even one person, that’s everything. That’s the mission.”
King Ultramega’s debut album will come out later this year via Reigning Phoenix
