RASMUS BOM ANDERSEN OF DIAMOND HEAD PAYS TRIBUTE TO CHRIS CORNELL ON THE 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF HIS PASSING

REMEMBERING CHRIS CORNELL…

by Dany Jones

These are the sombre days of the Rock world, when once again, due to the loss of yet another irreplaceable talent, the earth stands still and tributes start pouring in in remembrance of the soul taken way too soon.
Chris Cornell ‘the voice’, artist and frontman of American Rock titans SOUNDGARDEN and AUDIOSLAVE, suddenly passed on the tragic evening of the 18th May 2017 in a hotel room in Detroit while on the US leg of his solo tour.

Numerous the tributes from fellow artists. Amongst those, we have caught up with singer Rasmus Bom Andersen who may well ‘be evil’ when fronting the acclaimed British Heavy Metal band DIAMOND HEAD, however today he feels anything but.

When asked what Chris Cornell meant to him, Rasmus has one definition: ‘the ultimate Rock vocalist’. He claims that Cornell and SOUNDGARDEN are his biggest influence and the ones who inspired him and made him into the singer and musician he is today. Learning about the star’s passing was simply crushing.

“We were on tour in the US and due to play Rocklahoma the same day SOUNDGARDEN were headlining. I had been excited about this beyond words and had hoped I might get to meet my hero backstage and have a chat. I remember waking up in my hotel a few days before the festival with all these weird messages on my phone telling me how sorry they were for me. I had no clue what was going on until I got the sleep out of my eyes and then the news hit me. I was devastated, and left with a very heavy heart for the rest of the tour“

While on the road, Andersen has one thought alone; what better way to honour his hero if not by going through the entire back-catalogue, just like friends and fans all over the world did. It is then that he comes across Cold Bitch, a bonus track only released on the US version of the SOUNDGARDEN album Badmotorfinger. Once again, he is blown away by Cornell’s voice and becomes literally obsessed with the song, now classed as one of his all time favourites.

It is here that the idea of recording some SOUNDGARDEN covers was born, however, due to hectic touring schedules and concentrating on the recording of the band’s new album, the project only sees the light at a much later date.

In 2018, DIAMOND HEAD management hinted at recording a cover of SOUNDGARDEN’s Rusty Cage as a bonus track on the new DH album The Coffin Train (which will be 1 year old on the 24th May), due to the resemblance of vocal tone between the two artists, however that does not quite go to plan and it ultimately gets scrapped.

DIAMOND HEAD’s very own Shades Of Black was written by Andersen as a way of processing and grieving the loss of Chris Cornell, but to the singer it does not feel quite enough. There is that niggling thought on his mind that the cover should be released regardless and, by which point, it would only make sense to birth a proper side project including several tracks, not just the one. He knows just the right people who would be interested in bringing this to life.

Fast forward to many moons later and a star studded team called RAW VOCALS is born including Rasmus on vocals, Dan Baune of MONUMENT on guitar, Benny Picken ex FIRE RED EMPRESS on bass and the absolute beast that is Jordan Spencer of EVIL SCARECROW, who has come straight from BOA Bloodstock Open Air especially to lay down the drum parts.

The 5 song EP sees the light at VADA Studios in Birmingham and it includes SOUNDGARDEN’s Let Me Drown, Bleed Together, Limo Wreck and, of course, Rusty Cage and Cold Bitch.

After much deliberation, the quintet decide that the best way to pay homage is to keep the songs as true to the original versions as possible. This entails reproducing that classic raw 90’s Seattle Rock sound classed as Grunge that later gave birth to an entire new subculture, and even the shifting tempo that makes the tracks so organic, unlike contemporary quantised music, yet each adding their own individual stamp.

Thanks to the great professionalism of all involved, the tracking only takes two days and they even manage to squeeze a still photoshoot for the upcoming Rusty Cage video.

“Initially I had planned to mix the tracks, but found it all too personal. I was daunted at the enormity of the task we had set ourselves – covering our idols, and wanting to live up to their brilliance”.  Andersen therefore opts to pass the buck to guitarist and producer in his own right Dan Baune, while he will finish the record off with the mastering.

Rusty Cage felt like the most natural opener, hence was released first on the anniversary of Cornell’s passing, on the 18th May. This was a tricky one in terms of getting the right feel and it is also a structurally complex one to reproduce; it only made sense to tackle it first also from a technical standpoint.

 

 

Cold Bitch also presented its challenges due to the extreme stretch in vocal range required  for this particular song. Andersen describes it as as one of his biggest vocal trials to date:

“I could not believe the magnitude of this song. It was one of the most amazing songs I had heard in a long time and Chris’ vocals were just echoing from another higher plane. It was such a huge challenge to even attempt to do this song, but I had to give it a shot”.

The other three went pretty smooth sailing and the rest is history. A journey, not without its hurdles and full of “emotional hurricanes”, as described by the singer himself. “Trying to live up to your hero and hope that you do his memory justice is an intimidating and scary thing”.

Rasmus Bom Andersen has one last thing to say: “Thank you for everything Chris!”

 

 

Vocals – Rasmus Andersen – @rawvocals – www.rawvocals.com