King Ultramega Pay Tribute to Chris Cornell with Cover of “Say Hello 2 Heaven”
I don’t know about my fellow elder millennials, but there are few deaths that me hit as hard in the music scene as that of Chris Cornell. When he died back in 2017 at the far-too-young age of 52, it was a shock. He’d been playing with Soundgarden once again, but he ultimately took his own life. Since then, his music lives on in so many projects and tributes, just as it does in the supergroup/passion project King Ultramega.
Earlier today, that musical project involving members of Anthrax, Alice In Chains, Mastodon, and even Soundgarden itself, released a beautifully faithful — albeit spirited — cover of the classic Temple of the Dog song “Say Hello 2 Heaven.” And it’s absolutely heart-rending.
Featuring Richie Kotzen (Poison/The Winery Dogs/Mr. Big) on vocals and guitar, Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Pantera, S.O.D.) on drums, and Mark Menghi (BMPD, Metal Alliegance) on bass, the cover ebbs and flows just like the original. The guitars have that almost ethereal feel to them, the drums keep things almost swaying along, and the bass provides the heartbeat, but it’s Kotzen’s vocals that really need to be brought up here.
If you’re going to cover Chris Cornell, you better not half ass it. The man had pipes for days and thankfully, Kotzen brings it on this one. If you’re not familiar with this tune, it’s overflowing with soul. Cornell sang his balls off on it, so it’s only fitting that Kotzen brought that same level of energy. Though given how the song hits him in the wake of a great personal tragedy, it’s not entirely surprising.
“I lost my sister to suicide in 2022, and that kind of loss changes how you experience certain songs. It’s not something I set out to bring into the session, but it showed up. That’s when it stopped feeling like just a tribute and became something more personal.”
Originally written in response to the passing of Mother Love Bone’s vocalist Andrew Wood, “Say Hello 2 Heaven” has a feel that almost everyone that’s dealt with loss can relate to. It’s that universality, Menghi said, that makes the song hit home for so many.
“The lyrical message in ‘Say Hello 2 Heaven’ strikes a chord when you think back on how Chris wrote about Andrew’s untimely passing, and here we are over 30 years later paying tribute to Chris with his song about his untimely passing. It’s an emotional rollercoaster to say the least.”
In addition to releasing an absolutely striking version of “Say Hello 2 Heaven”, the track is being sued to raise funds and awareness for MusiCares, the Recording Academy’s non-profit organization that provides mental health, addiction recovery, and emergency services to those in the music community.
To find out more about MusiCares and how you can help, be sure to visit their website for details.
