Maximum Performance

Soundgarden’s New Song! Check Out ‘Non-State Actor’ And Our Exclusive Interview

By | Maximum Performance – Wed, Oct 31, 2012 12:25 PM EDT

Ladies and gentlemen, the United States of Sound is holding court as judge, jury and executioner of rock. We've got the exclusive on Soundgarden's next single off their first album since 1996's Down on the Upside! Check out our interview with lead man Chris Cornell and drummer Matt Cameron to hear what we can expect from their upcoming album and what they've been up to the past 16 years.

A song for rock purists, "Non-State Actor" shows a tight, refreshed Soundgarden well-evolved from the previous millennium's incarnation, and just heavy enough to satisfy hardcore fans. But it's just a taste of what sonic acquisitions band members have gleaned over the many years since breaking up.

Lyrically, the track couldn't be more timely with the presidential elections coming next week. Cornell sings, "We're not elected / But we will speak / We're not the chosen / But we believe / And we settle for / A little bit more than everything." After 16 years of silence, the band isn't wasting a word, touching upon themes of poverty, war and a power greater than the government elect. Is that what a non-state actor could be?

After announcing their return in 2010, Soundgarden-heads have only (officially) heard the band's power-heavy recording "Live To Rise" for the 2012 film The Avengers, and the appropriately-titled single "Been Away Too Long" off their upcoming album. Surely with a very long-awaited reunion, fans can only hope to get "a little bit more than everything."

King Animal drops November 13. Bask in the glory of more new Soundgarden below!

For you lyrics freaks out there, here's the full lyric set for "Non-State Actor":

Coin in every pocket

More mouths to fill

So weak in the land

Strong in the will (need)

I'll be your beast of burden

I'll be the seed

I bring you the healer

Feel your disease

I bring dirty water

And make it clean (young)

And you are the cure

I am the drug

And we settle for

A little bit more than everything

We're not elected

But we will speak

We're not the chosen

But we believe

And we settle for a little bit more

Than everything

Bullets, guns and missiles

A stone and a sling

A motherless country

Of thee I sing   (song)

You are the tank and rockets

I am the bomb

I teach you a lesson

Sword for a pen

Reading turn the pages

A history of man   (look)

You are tabula rasa

I am the book

And we settle for a little bit more than everything

We're not elected

But we will speak

We're not the chosen

But we believe

And we settle for

A little bit more than everything

I'm a non-state actor

I'm a non-state actor

I'm a non-state

I'm a non-state actor

And we settle for a little bit more than everything

We're not elected but we will speak

We're not the chosen but we believe

And we settle for a little bit more than everything

A little bit more

A little bit more

A little bit more

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