Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante enlisted some of his favorite fellow rockers to put together a tribute to Soundgarden with a faithful cover of one of the iconic Seattle band's most immortal tunes, "Rusty Cage."

Benante called upon Alice In Chains frontman William DuVall, Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher and Metal Allegiance bassist Mark Menghi for the quarantine cover and music video performance.

If the lineup needed any more credibility, Soundgarden's own Kim Thayil appears at the front of the clip to offer his endorsement.

"This song makes me wanna drive fast," Benante explained in a statement accompanying the video.

Benante became a lifelong Soundgarden fan in the late-'80s, he writes, after hearing some of the band's earliest singles and then sharing some festival stages with them over the ensuing three decades.

"I always thought they had 'it,'" the drummer explained. "They were tight but loose, up and down, in and out of tune, heavy and soft, always unique. I always loved the way Chris Cornell sang. His voice was so recognizable."

In this version of "Rusty Cage," DuVall does an admirable job reproducing Chris' wily baritone and finding seamless workarounds for his alien falsetto. Kelliher, Menghi and Benante's parts are all alarmingly close to the original tracks by Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Matt Cameron.

"...I decided to jam this one out...because it moved us when we first heard it and damnit, it still does!" Benante concluded. "Hope you all enjoy it and take the time to think what good music does to your soul."

Photo: Getty Images

Bill Moran

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