Those squealing and riffing purveyors of grunge known as Soundgarden are getting the band back together. So says lead screamer Chris Cornell, who announced the reunion on his Twitter as the clock struck 2010 on January 1. (Via Billboard.) "The 12 year break is over & school is back in session. Knights of the Soundtable ride again!" wrote the singer, adding a link to the new official band site, where fans can sign up for e-mail updates.

Concrete details about the reunion are slim at the moment, but Billboard reports that the Seattle group-- that's Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and current Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron-- are currently entertaining festival offers for the spring and summer. Soundgarden started in 1984, got super huge with 1994's Superunknown and then disbanded in 1997. The core foursome haven't played together since then, though Cameron, Thayil, and Shepherd played some Soundgarden tunes at a random gig last March, and Cornell joined Cameron and the rest of Pearl Jam at an L.A. gig in October for the Temple of the Dog classic "Hunger Strike".

The biggest question mark regarding the reunion is Cameron, who has lots of 2010 dates with Pearl Jam already lined up and recently told New Zealand website Stuff "the last thing on my mind is getting a band back together" when asked about the future of Soundgarden. But at least this means Chris Cornell will most likely not put out a solo album produced by Timbaland in 2010, and for that we are grateful.