Grunge Icon Chris Cornell Dies At 52

Soundgarden performing at SXSW in 2014. Photo by David Brendan Hall

Chris Cornell has passed away at the age of 52, the Associated Press reported. He was found in a Detroit hotel room Wednesday night, and authorities are investigating the death as a possible suicide, though no official cause of death has been released yet. According to a statement from Cornell’s representative Brian Bumberry, his death was “sudden and unexpected.”

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Cornell was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. He was most famous for his work with the bands Soundgarden and Audioslave, the former one of the more prominent acts to emerge from the Seattle grunge scene in the ’80s and ’90s. The band is famous for grunge anthems like “Black Hole Sun” and “Spoonman.” In the mid-aughts, Cornell joined forces with members of Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave, who would release three studio albums together. Cornell also has a catalog of solo releases, the most recent of which being 2015’s Higher Truth.

Hours before his death, Cornell performed with Soundgarden at Detroit’s Fox Theater. Watch footage from Cornell’s final performance below.

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