Metallica guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield as interviewed by Boston, MA radio station WAAF and was asked about the death of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell.

Hetfield remarked, "Well, it does make you hug those around you, for sure — bandmates, family that's out here, family at home. It makes you realize that, you know, there is a darkness that anyone and everyone can find and feel that they're trapped in. And when you're there — and at least I know the depth of my darkness at times — it is difficult when you're in that space to even fathom that there's someone there that can help you or has been through that before. Sometimes you're at such a loss…

"I can't… obviously can't explain what he was going through, but we all have our darknesses," he continued. "And check in with each other — check in with each other. Let each other know how you're doing.

"Yes, it's a sad story, and there's a lot of sad stories recently, especially in the grunge world, losing a lot of people," Hetfield added. "And for us, [losing] Lemmy and all of the things that have been happening in the last couple of years, it just makes us feel even more grateful to be out here doing what we're doing."

According to CNN, Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell will be laid to rest on May 26 in Los Angeles. His body will be flown from Michigan to Los Angeles on Sunday, and Cornell will be buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the sources said.

One of the sources told CNN, "The family is thinking about a (public) memorial for fans, but is coping now with their loss and the funeral service."

Chris Cornell passed away on May 18th at the age of 52.

Soundgarden were on a North American tour and had played Wednesday night at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. A representative for the Detroit Police told Variety that the death of Cornell was being investigated as a suicide, although he emphasized at the time that it was too early to make a definitive conclusion.

“At 12 a.m. [local time], we received a 911 call from the MGM Grand Casino Hotel,” Detroit Police director of media relations told Variety. “It appears as though a family friend was checking up on Cornell at his wife’s request. He went to hotel and discovered him unresponsive on the bathroom floor. Police made the location with EMS, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“At present our investigation is leaning toward the possibility of suicide, but we must wait for a medical report to determine the cause of death. At this time we cannot release too much information about what we observed in Cornell’s hotel room or what led us to this conclusion.”

Stay tuned for updates on Cornell’s passing in the days to come.