"Bleed Together" is a song by the American rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

 band Soundgarden

Soundgarden

Soundgarden is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by singer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto...

. Written by frontman Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...

, "Bleed Together" was first released in the United States on Soundgarden's post-breakup greatest hits album, A-Sides

A-Sides

A-Sides is a compilation album by the American rock band Soundgarden with songs spanning the band's thirteen year career. It was released on November 4, 1997 through A&M Records.-Overview:...

(1997). It had previously appeared as a B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

 on some foreign copies of the band's 1996 single, "Burden in My Hand

Burden in My Hand

"Burden in My Hand" is a song by the American rock band Soundgarden. Written by frontman Chris Cornell, "Burden in My Hand" was released on September 18, 1996 as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, Down on the Upside . The song topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,...

". It was released as a single in November 1997 in support of A-Sides, and was the first single released by Soundgarden, after the band's breakup in April 1997. The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

Origin and recording

"Bleed Together" was written by frontman Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell is an American rock musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Soundgarden and as the former lead vocalist for Audioslave. He is also known for his numerous solo works and soundtrack contributions since 1998...

. It was recorded by Soundgarden in Seattle, Washington during the Down on the Upside

Down on the Upside

Down on the Upside is the fifth studio album by the American grunge band Soundgarden, released on May 21, 1996 through A&M Records. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Superunknown , Soundgarden commenced work on a new album...

sessions. Guitarist Kim Thayil

Kim Thayil

Kim Thayil is an American guitarist best known as the lead guitarist of the Seattle-based grunge band Soundgarden, which he cofounded with singer Chris Cornell and bassist Hiro Yamamoto in 1984...

 on the song:

That came from the Down on the Upside session and originally the record company was interested in it being on the album, but we weren't interested in putting it on the album because we weren't happy with the mix we got for it. Also, we had to concern ourselves with the length of the record and how much time we could fit on one disc, so we never finished it before Down on the Upside came out. This was one of many mixes we had tried at the time.

Composition

"Bleed Together" is one of the few Soundgarden songs written in the key of E. Thayil said, "It's a fast, energetic, punk rock type song with a hooky melody. Chris sings aggressively, but definitely melodically—as opposed to screaming—over these fast punk rock chords." Drummer Matt Cameron

Matt Cameron

Matthew David "Matt" Cameron is an American musician who serves as the drummer for the American rock bands Pearl Jam and Soundgarden...

 can be heard visiting the paradiddle for effect on the ride cymbal during the bridge of the song.

Release and reception

"Bleed Together" was released as a promo CD single. It was the final single released by Soundgarden until "Black Rain

Black Rain (Soundgarden song)

- Track listing :- Chart performances :...

" in August 2010. Thayil said, "We decided it would be a good single and song to promote A-Sides." The song peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and number 32 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. In Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, "Bleed Together" charted on the Alternative Top 30 chart where it peaked at number 28.

Chart positions

Chart (1997)	Position
US Mainstream Rock Tracks	13
Canadian RPM Alternative 30 RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...	28
US Modern Rock Tracks	32