Hardcover
Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil tells their iconic grunge rock story, backstage and beyond.

A Screaming Life

Into the Superunknown with Soundgarden and Beyond

$66.90

  • Hardcover

    304 pages

  • Release Date

    9 June 2026

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Summary

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The memoir by co-founding member of Soundgarden and lead guitarist Kim Thayil about one of the 1990s’ signature rock bands

From Soundgarden’s humble beginnings manifesting grunge in Seattle’s beer-soaked punk clubs to their revered status today as rock icons, the band’s journey has been nothing short of extraordinary. In A Screaming Life, founding member and guitar god Kim Thayil goes backstage to introduce the band that fear…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780063416291
ISBN-10:0063416298
Author:Thayil K.
Publisher:HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Imprint:HarperCollins Publishers
Format:Hardcover
Number of Pages:304
Release Date:9 June 2026
Weight:454g
Dimensions:31mm x 150mm x 226mm
A-Format
B-Format
A Screaming Life by Thayil K. - ISBN: 9780063416291
150 × 226 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Such dissonance–between public triumph and private unraveling–animates this candid memoir… Charting Soundgarden’s rise, breakup, and return, A Screaming Life offers a clear-eyed account of a defining band that resists easy nostalgia, emphasizing the fragile, fleeting nature of artistic connection.” - Booklist

“In this entertaining memoir … Thayil balances his enthusiasm about the band’s rise with frank discussions about creative conflicts over the group’s hard-rock and psychedelic influences, which contributed to its breakup in 1997. Thayil’s grief over Cornell’s death in 2017 is particularly moving. Readers will find it an amiable and intriguing history of an influential rock group.” - Publishers Weekly

About The Author

Thayil K.

Kim Thayil

Kim Thayil is a Grammy Award-winning musician and Soundgarden’s lead guitarist. Born in Seattle to immigrant parents, he grew up in Chicago before meeting Hiro Yamamoto and returning to the West Coast. Together with Chris Cornell, the trio founded Soundgarden and went on to create critically acclaimed albums, including Superunknown. Rolling Stone has ranked Thayil among the greatest guitarists of all time, and Soundgarden was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2025.

Adem Tepedelen

Adem Tepedelen is a freelance editor and writer, whose work has appeared in Decibel, Rolling Stone, Seattle Weekly, and many other publications. He is the coauthor of Mud Ride, with Steve Turner, and A Fabulous Disaster, with Gary Holt.

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