"Bleed Together" is a song by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil (both of whom are the only members to appear in every incarnation of the band), and bassist Hiro Yamamo ...

. Written by frontman

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell (né Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American singer and musician best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and primary lyricist and songwriter for the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. H ...

, "Bleed Together" was first released in the United States on Soundgarden's post-breakup greatest hits album, '' A-Sides'' (1997). It had previously appeared as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

on some foreign copies of the band's 1996 single, "

Burden in My Hand "Burden in My Hand" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Burden in My Hand" was released on September 18, 1996, as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, ''Down on the Upside'' (1996). ...

". It was released as a single in November 1997 in support of ''A-Sides'', and was the first single released by Soundgarden, after the band's breakup in April 1997. The song peaked at number 13 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart.

Origin and recording

"Bleed Together" was written by frontman

. It was recorded by Soundgarden in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, during the ''

Down on the Upside ''Down on the Upside'' is the fifth studio album by the American rock band Soundgarden, released on May 21, 1996, through A&M Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, ''Superunknown'' (1994), Soundgarden commenced work ...

'' sessions. Guitarist

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960) is an American musician best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he co-founded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984. Cornell and Thayil rem ...

on the song:

That came from the ''Down on the Upside'' session and originally the record company was interested in it being on the album, but we weren't interested in putting it on the album because we weren't happy with the mix we got for it. Also, we had to concern ourselves with the length of the record and how much time we could fit on one disc, so we never finished it before ''Down on the Upside'' came out. This was one of many mixes we had tried at the time."Kim Thayil's A-Sides"
''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
''. January 1998.

Composition

"Bleed Together" is one of the few Soundgarden songs written in the key of E. Thayil said, "It's a fast, energetic, punk rock type song with a hooky melody. Chris sings aggressively, but definitely melodically—as opposed to screaming—over these fast punk rock chords." Drummer

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986. He appeared on each of ...

can be heard visiting the

paradiddle In ''rudimental drumming'', a form of percussion music, a drum rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drumming patterns. The term "drum rudiment" is most closely associa ...

for effect on the ride cymbal during the bridge of the song.

Release and reception

"Bleed Together" was released as a promo CD single. It was the final single released by Soundgarden until " Black Rain" in August 2010. Thayil said, "We decided it would be a good single and song to promote ''A-Sides''." The song peaked at number 13 on the ''Billboard''

chart and number 32 on the ''Billboard''

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart. In

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, "Bleed Together" charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it peaked at number 28.

Charts

References

{{authority control 1997 singles Soundgarden songs Song recordings produced by Chris Cornell Song recordings produced by Matt Cameron Songs written by Chris Cornell 1997 songs A&M Records singles