In a stunning development, drummer Matt Cameron, who joined Pearl Jam in 1998 shortly after Soundgarden split up, is stepping away from the band.
In a statement posted this morning (July 7) on social media, the 62-year-old musician wrote, “after 27 fantastic years, I have taken my final steps down the drum riser for the mighty Pearl Jam. Much love and respect to Jeff, Ed, Mike and Stone for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, one filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter.”
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“I am forever grateful to the crew, staff and fans the world over,” he continued. “It’s been an incredible journey. More to follow. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
In their own statement, Pearl Jam wrote, “from being one of our first musical heroes in the bands Skin Yard and the mighty Soundgarden, to playing on our first demos in 1990, Matt Cameron has been a singular and true powerhouse of a musician and drummer. He has propelled the last 27 years of Pearl Jam live shows and studio recordings. It was a deeply important chapter for our group and we wish him well always. He will be deeply missed and is forever our friend in art and music. We love you Matt.”
A San Diego-area native who moved to Seattle in 1983, Cameron was already a scene heavyweight by the time he joined Soundgarden three years later — capable of thundering through jagged time signatures, gifted with ghost notes and ready to employ more stately rhythms when a song called for them. Perhaps more than any other drummer of his generation, Cameron has been a galvanizing force for every lineup he’s joined.
Through his friendship with future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Mike McCready, he played on early demos of material that would appear on the band’s 1991 debut, Ten, and also manned the kit for the 1990 Temple of the Dog album in tribute to late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood (the latter featured a then-unknown singer named Eddie Vedder). And while he enjoyed massive success with Soundgarden through the first half of the 1990s on the strength of albums such as Superunknown and Badmotorfinger, Cameron was a free agent at just the right time in the spring of 1998 when Pearl Jam’s then-drummer, Jack Irons, opted to leave the band.
His first show was on May 7, 1998, in Seattle, and barring a handful of COVID-19 related absences in recent years, he’s been a rock behind the drum kit for Pearl Jam ever since, even while pulling double duty with Soundgarden following their 2010 reunion. He played on every Pearl Jam album since 2000’s Binaural, and his final performance with the band was on May 18, 2025, in Pittsburgh at the finale of the tour in support of 2024’s Grammy-nominated Dark Matter.
“Working with them is totally pro,” Cameron told SPIN of Pearl Jam in 2001. “They can sell out any arena anywhere in the world. They’re kind of in a special league. They can tour really comfortably but keep it kinda small as well. Punk-rock arena rock is the way they approach it.”
With the bombast and precision of a top-shelf metal drummer but a deep knowledge of punk and garage rock and a flair for oddball time signatures, Cameron has accumulated massive respect across generations. When British electronica stars the Prodigy wanted to conquer America and cross over to rock fans, they sought Cameron out to provide drum loops for 1997’s The Fat of the Land. When Rush frontman Geddy Lee made his first solo album, 2000’s My Favourite Headache, he chose Cameron to occupy the stool usually held down by Neil Peart. Cameron has also served as a mentor to numerous younger drummers, particularly late Foo Fighters member Taylor Hawkins, with whom he also recorded music.
Cameron’s style in Pearl Jam was highlighted on Dark Matter at the behest of producer Andrew Watt, who told SPIN last year, “I had a conversation with a friend of mine who was like, what’s Matt Cameron in Pearl Jam? Matt Cameron in Pearl Jam is like Temple of the Dog, right? It’s Soundgarden drums over Stone riffs. You also have to remember that Matt Cameron also played on the demos of Ten. When Eddie Vedder went surfing and listened to that original instrumental cassette, he was hearing Matt Cameron’s drums, not Dave Krusen’s. When you’re together for a long time, everyone becomes better musicians and a master of their craft. In Pearl Jam, there was a time where each guy would bring in their demo and already have an idea for the drums. Matt would do what’s right for the song and expand on it a little bit. I didn’t want that to happen here. I wanted each of their instincts to be able to come out fresh and unaltered, and that’s what is on this record, which was written by every member of the band on every song. Every song started with a riff and then went through the filter of each guy together.”
Pearl Jam is off the road through the rest of 2025, leaving them time to decide on a Cameron replacement. Meanwhile, Soundgarden’s surviving members continue work on music recorded prior to Cornell’s 2017 suicide, following the resolution of a lawsuit with his widow over next steps.
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
