Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell has demanded that master tapes of Temple of The Dog's 1991 album be returned to him, Eddie Vedder and the rest of the line-up of Pearl Jam.

Cornell and Pearl Jam collaborated on the million-selling album, which is regarded as one of the defining works of the grunge era.

A legal battle has erupted over the master tapes with A&M suing Raj Parashar and his brother, the founders of Seattle's London Bridge Studios where the album was recorded.

Sky News reports that the record label, with the backing of Cornell, are demanding that Parashar hand over the master tapes ahead of the next year's 25th anniversary of the album's release.

A&M says it bought the album and master tapes in 1991 and in a statement, Cornell said: "A&M Records paid for the recordings and the use of the studio."

Cornell added that for Mr Parashar "to pretend he has a right to keep the recordings makes no more sense than the owner of a laundromat claiming he owns the clothes you washed in his washing machine".

However, Parashar claims he is still the rightful owner. His lawyer says that he helped to engineer the album, was never paid for his efforts, and was not part of an agreement that his brother reached with the label.