Chris Cornell's former Audioslave bandmate Tom Morello says he's relieved they reconnected in the months leading up to his death, but admits he remains devastated by his passing.
Morello and Cornell were hugely close - particularly in the early 2000s, when Audioslave were in their prime - and the former penned a heartwrenching poem for his treasured friend following his death.
Cornell, 52, was found dead in the bathroom of his Detroit hotel room in May after the grunge band had played a concert in the city.
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Speaking to US radio station WRIF, Morello said he will never fully get over his bandmate's death.
"I don't think I'll ever recover from his passing, but we have so many great memories," he said.
"I was just really glad… we played an Audioslave show. [It was] the first one in 12 years in January, so to be able to reconnect with him, both as friends and as musical collaborators, that's something I'm so glad we were able to do."
Morello added that when he and Cornell had re-established their friendship and band relationship at the start of 2017, he seemed far removed from the mental health demons of his past.
"I saw Chris in January, and we text a couple of times after that. He was great - on a scale of 100, he was 100, you know?" he said.
"He had a beautiful family and we talked about doing more Audioslave stuff, maybe even this year - so it's a real pity."
Morello also commented on the death of Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, saying it was "insane" the modern rock icons, who shared a tight bond, took their own lives within a matter of months of one another.
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"It's a horrible loss for the world of music, but also a horrible loss because they were two - I didn't know Chester as well - but [they were] two really good people," he said.
"Both seemed very inexplicable, their passing."
If you wish to talk to someone about mental illness or domestic violence, you can call Lifeline on 0800 543 354, the Depression Helpline on 0800 111 757 or the National Telehealth Service on 1737.
Newshub.