That is a fucking great question; what the fuck has ex-Soundgarden axeman Kim Thayil been up to recently? We all know what Chris Cornell has been doing, and some of us might know that ex-Soundgarden skinsman Matt Cameron has been busy playing drums for some band called Pearl Jam for the last 10 years. As for bassist Ben Shepherd, “Nobody gives a flying fuck what Ben Shepherd is doing because bassists do what again?” But thankfully MetalSucks reader and fellow blogger NoYokoNo has done some research and turned up an answer about how Soundgarden’s resident beardo is keeping busy.

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I do believe that if there were a soundtrack to a bear climbing up a mountain, it would sound precisely like Ascend, a sludge/doom collaboration featuring Gentry Densley (Iceburn, Eagle Twin) and Greg Anderson (sunn 0))), Goatsnake, Engine Kid).

Thanks to Iann Robinson for tipping me off to this excellent band. It’s not the kind of thing you’d really, ya know, rock out to, but FUCK is it heavy. And bear-like. Climbing a mountain.

Ample Fire Within drops May 27th on Southern Lord.

-VN

[Ascend on MySpace]