Chris Cornell’s friends and family have all expressed their shock at the untimely passing of the rock icon, with nobody who saw him in his final days ever imagining that he’d soon be gone.
Least of all System of a Down’s Serj Tankian or Cornell’s Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello, both of whom have described their final moments with the Soundgarden frontman in an interview with Rolling Stone, and their shock that he would have taken his own life.
“We had this long chat, sitting next to each other,” Tankian tells author David Fricke, revealing Cornell’s attitude to the tour he was midway through. “For myself, it’s fun but nothing new under the sun,” Tankian explains, adding that Cornell “was just the opposite.”
“‘I’m really excited. I’m doing this tour with Soundgarden. I’ve got these other ideas.'” Tankian quotes. “He had plans, man.”
As Tankian points out, Cornell had been doing press runs throughout the tour and in recent times, and had just posted to Twitter the day of his passing when he arrived in Detroit, telling fans he was “finally back to Rock City!” with the hashtag “#nomorebullshit”.
Tom Morello last saw Chris Cornell the night of Audioslave’s renuion show in January
Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello, meanwhile, recalls seeing Cornell at January’s Anti-Inaugural Ball, the Audioslave reuinion/protest against Trump’s inauguration, claiming that Cornell was “shining”.
“We hung out after the show – just laughed, took pictures,” Morello says. “The last thing he said to me was, ‘I had such a great time. I would love to do this again. You just let me know.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s figure it out!’
“It’s unbelievable,” he continues. “I don’t know what the phases of mourning are, but I’m in the first one. I still expect this to be some kind of mistake.”
The full piece details Cornell’s final days, and is a must-read for anyone who, like Morello, is struggling to come to terms with the loss of a music giant.
If you or somebody you care for needs help or information about depression, suicide, anxiety, or mental health issues, contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 or Lifeline on 13 11 14.
