American alternative rock band Soundgarden has started planning a new studio album – their first in 15 years – and will begin recording soon, reports Spinner.
"Over the past few months, we’ve been busy jamming, writing and hanging out together – exploring the creative aspect of being Soundgarden. It feels great," the group wrote on their website.
This will be the first album from the band since they released Down on the Upside in 1996, although they held a secret reunion show in April 2010, their first performance together since disbanding in 1997.
"We have some cool new songs that we are going to record very soon. Thank you for all of the support!" they continued.
The Seattle band helped to usher in the grunge movement of alt rock as the first grunge band to sign with a major label. They rose to fame with their 1994 album, Superunknown. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and contained Grammy-winning singles Black Hole Sun and Spoonman.
They will also be releasing their first ever live album, Live on I5, which is expected to hit shelves next month on March 22. The material for the 17 tracks comes from their 1996 world tour.