Seattle's Soundgarden release King, the band's first new studio album in over 15 years. King Animal is released on Vertigo Records, an imprint of the UK's Mercury Music Group, home to Metallica, Black Sabbath and The Killers. The band co-produced their sixth studio album with longtime Soundgarden friend and producer Adam Kasper (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Pearl Jam) and recorded at Studio X in Seattle. King Animal was mixed by Joe Barresi (The Melvins, Queens of the Stone Age, Weezer) in Pasadena, California. The writing and recording of the album was a true collaborative effort. Riotous album opener and first single "Been Away Too Long" finds Soundgarden back at it with a double-edged blast of homecoming celebration and urban angst. King Animal can be explosive, as in "Blood On The Valley Floor," nightmarish ("Worse Dreams") or wistful ("Halfway There"), leading us through changing sonic landscapes that can embrace both the jazz inflections of "Black Saturday" and the feral rocker "Attrition," with compelling lyrics by bassist Ben Shepherd. The subject matter is broad - Kim Thayil's lyrics for "Non-State Actor" are a sharp and cynical take on the powers behind political thrones, while Cornell's bruised and introspective "Bones of Birds" explores the terrors and vulnerabilities of parenthood.