Soundgarden's Kim Thayil plays on new version of 'The Day I Tried to Live' for King Ultramega project

Posted By: Staff
November 7, 2025 @ 6:00 pm
Music News

King Ultramega “The Day I Tried to Live” single artwork. (Reigning Phoenix Music)

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil plays on a new version of the band’s song “The Day I Tried to Live,” recorded for the King Ultramega project.

Spearheaded by Mark Menghi of Metal Allegiance, King Ultramega aims to pay tribute to late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who died in 2017. Along with Thayil, the King Ultramega version of “The Day I Tried to Live” features Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante and Arch Enemy vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.

“I believe that the personal exploration that came out of my accepting the invitation from Mark, and King Ultramega, to participate in these recordings, allowed me to open myself up to the creative risks of sharing an emotive and artistically intimate experience with other creative individuals, and that this has proved to be rewarding and encouraging, for me, of future similar collaborations,” Thayil says.

King Ultramega has previously released a cover of Soundgarden’s “Rusty Cage” featuring Benante, Alice in Chains‘ William DuVall and Mastodon‘s Bill Kelliher.

Soundgarden, meanwhile, will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday.