The upcoming issue of Australia’s Rolling Stone magazine, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell discussed a few of his friends who have passed away.

“I’ve lost a lot of young, brilliant friends. Andy Wood and Layne [Staley] and Jeff Buckley, who was a good friend, and Kurt [Cobain], and Shannon Hoon [of Blind Melon] was a friend, and Mike Starr [Alice In Chains] was a friend.”

Cornell talked about the inspiration he drew from for his new album Higher Truth, and how it isn’t a record he could have made when he was younger, and how his friends are affecting his music today. He talked about wondering what his friends would be doing today if they were still alive. “But it’s really bittersweet because I can’t help but think, what would Jeff be doing right now, what would Kurt be doing right now, what would Andy be doing? Something amazing.”

Cornell also talked about Layne Staley’s reaction to Andrew Wood and Kurt Cobain’s deaths, “seeing how Layne reacted to Andy dying from drugs, and I think that he was scared possibly. And I think he also reacted the same way when Kurt shot himself. They were really good friends. And yet it didn’t stop him.”