Members of Soundgarden, OFF! and Queens of the Stone Age Reveal More Details of "Really Heavy, Doomy" Supergroup

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Jun 11, 2014

Following online rumblings in recent months, OFF! guitarist Dimitri Coats has shed more light on a new supergroup that also features drummer Matt Cameron and bassist Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden, as well as Queens of the Stone Age alum Alain Johannes. The band have yet to reveal their name, but they've already been tracking tunes they hope to have out by year's end.

"I think we've laid down the foundation for, like, 10 songs," Coats told Billboard. "I'm going to be singing. Alain's definitely singing a bit. We might invite a couple of guests at some point."

While the project had apparently come to fruition back in 2008 between Cameron, Shepherd and Johannes, Coats noted that he had only joined the project earlier this year after he and the drummer had been corresponding over Facebook.

"I'm kind of along for the ride on this one," Coats explains of his role in the group. "Those guys have known each other for years; I'm like the new guy. I don't know if we're gonna play live or what the deal is. I just know that I really enjoy hanging out with them and I'm learning a lot and we work very quickly; before I even feel like I've learned a song it's like we're hitting the record button."

Recording sessions took place earlier this year in Seattle, with Coats noting that the outcome has been "really heavy and doomy, but it's really all across the board."

"There's some kind of heavy, bluesy moments and then there's some really beautiful stuff, too," he continued. "It's a little bit like Superunknown, that kind of era of Soundgarden, mixed with Alain's kind of Stevie Wonder vibe. And they call me the secret weapon; I'm a little bit rough around the edges, but I have a lot of good ideas."

Coats added of balancing the new band with their full-time projects: "I think we're all in situations in our bands where we may not get to express ourselves fully the way we want to, and this is an opportunity to let some of those other colours out in our songwriting."

As Alternative Nation points out, the supergroup have been sharing various studio photos on social media recently, and you can check out some of those pics here.

Meanwhile, Shepherd is getting ready for a summer tour with Soundgarden, Cameron is keeping busy as the skinsman for Pearl Jam, and Coats continues to promote OFF!'s recent Wasted Years LP.

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