King Ultramega Taps Kim Thayil, Alissa White-Gluz for Great “The Day I Tried to Live” Cover

In the grand scheme of things, there are very few vocalists in the past, present, or future, that could ever hold a candle to the sheer vocal talent and power that the late Chris Cornell possessed. The man had an insanely unique set of pipes and damn it, could he write a song on top of it. So when it was revealed that the ongoing tribute project King Ultramega was bringing Arch Enemy’s Alissa White-Gluz to handle the iconic track “The Day I Tried to Live,” I was cautiously optimistic.

Yet after giving the track multiple listens, I’m happy to report that while it doesn’t stray too far from the original track’s formula, it faithfully nails the power and swagger of the 1994 banger off Superunknown.

In addition to White-Gluz, the folks behind King Ultramega tapped original Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil to play. Which, as you can guess, only adds to the authenticity of the track.

Given his proximity to all things Soundgarden, Thayil said this project was a special one for him:

“I believe that the personal exploration that came out of my accepting the invitation from Mark [Menghi], 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.”

The rest of King Ultramega is comprised of and featured on the video as: Charlie Benante (Anthrax, Pantera, S.O.D.) on drums, and Mark Menghi (BMPD, Metal Alliegance) on bass.

Looking back on recording the track, White-Gluz said she was acutely aware of the need to knock this one out of the park.

“I felt that I needed to try to embody his unique power and swagger when delivering the vocals here. He has always hadsuch a remarkable way of wording things; ‘I stole a thousand beggars’ change and gave it to the rich’ – just so, so good. He always managed to grab our attention with narrative and keep our interest with thoughtful word choice and intriguing messages.”

You can check out the track below. 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.