It’s taken Thayil years to process his friend’s passing and, of course, it still greatly affects him today. 

“I’ve saved texts between Chris and I and emails and voice messages,” Thayil says. “And, of course, we have our body of work. I can hear his voice every time I hear one of our songs, which was very difficult to do for the rest of 2017 and into 2018 and probably into 2019, too. It was just difficult.”

Sometimes a well-meaning bartender would recognize Thayil in a Seattle watering hole and throw on “Fell on Black Days” or “Black Hole Sun.” This only made the grieving harder. But there are positives for Thayil to look toward, as well—good memories, reinvestigated histories.

Cornell 1992-2011