Kim Thayil

Kim Thayil (born 1960) is the guitarist of Soundgarden, whose unconventional approach to heavy guitar — incorporating noise, feedback, odd time signatures, and unusual tunings — helped define the grunge sound. Born in Seattle to Indian immigrant parents, Thayil co-founded Soundgarden in 1984 with Chris Cornell and Hiro Yamamoto. His riffs on songs like Black Hole Sun, Spoonman, Outshined, and Jesus Christ Pose are among the heaviest and most inventive in 1990s rock. He was influenced by the Ramones, Gang of Four, and Killing Joke as much as by Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. His use of alternate tunings — particularly drop-D and various open tunings — gave Soundgarden a harmonic complexity unusual in heavy rock. Guitar World has named him one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.