Matt Cameron: “The overall intensity of the song still hits home for me. It’s a nice modern update, but still sounds true to the original. The chorus on the tribute version sounds amazing, Lzzy crushed the vocals and the guitars and bass are perfect. It’s nice when Kim’s solo kicks in too.”

Lzzy Hale: “Every time I tackle a Chris Cornell track I always want to honor his legacy. But with ‘Birth Ritual,’ I wanted to dance with it, meld his incendiary words with my soul and find a way to live inside the song.”

Joe Hottinger: “’Birth Ritual’ is such a wild song for the guitars. It’s a tuning I’ve never used and is super fun to play. I love how it just grooves with the drums. I decided to use my Bogner Snorkler and Wizard Hell Razor amps. My two favorite crunch amps right now. I kept it pretty true to the original on the rhythm guitar parts and took my liberties with the solos. All in all, the track was a joy to learn and play and I’m super excited to be on a track with one of my hero’s, Matt Cameron.”

Mark Menghi: “KING ULTRAMEGA has become more than a cover project; it feels like a living tribute to Chris Cornell’s entire creative spirit. If you notice the trend of KING ULTRAMEGA releases thus far, we cover all aspects of Chris’ career—spanning different albums, bands and solo records—with no more than one song from any given release. ‘Birth Ritual’ was originally featured on the legendary Singles movie soundtrack, and it has always been one of my favorite SOUNDGARDEN songs. It was important to me to give a tip of the cap to a phenomenal film—which Chris famously cameos in—and a soundtrack that perfectly defined that entire era. I still have my original VHS of the movie! Even our artwork for this release is a direct nod to the movie’s fictional band, ‘CITIZEN DICK.’”

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Song: Birth Ritual
Artist: Soundgarden
Album: Singles – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Release date: July 21, 2026

Vocals: Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Guitars: Joe Hottinger (Halestorm)
Bass: Mark Menghi
Drums: Matt Cameron (Soundgarden)

Mixed by Josh Wilbur
Produced by Mark Menghi

Written by: Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron & Kim Thayil

Lyrics:

Lying like needles on forest earth
Euphoric rush trees bend to pray for us
I’m sputtering like cold machines?
Late for the birth ritual
Ritual
Ritual
Ritual

You can drive my tail to watch the circus
A birth ritual, a birth of idiots
Now I woke up blessed and good strives for heartache
Marked for the death ritual
Ritual
Ritual

As you start the song and face this garden
I light a cigarette before the execution
Now you see your crime for every miracle
Add another drug at every birth ritual

I took the drug to make me stay
And now everything dies in shyness
The snake retreats admits defeat
And waits for the birth ritual
Ritual
Ritual

As you start the song and face this garden
I light a cigarette before the execution
Now you see your crime for every miracle
Add another drug at every birth ritual

Shining light
Child’s highs
Mark his sides
Bright until the newness wears off

As you start the song and face this garden?
I light a cigarette before the execution
Now you see your crime for every miracle
Add another drug at every birth ritual

Ritual
Ritual
Ritual

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