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Chris Cornell, frontman of the newly reformed Soundgarden, has claimed that Axl Rose was responsible for complicating Guns N' Roses' career.

In an interview with Vulture, the grunge originator talks about meeting Johnny Cash, dealing with the untimely deaths of friends and the impression he got when Soundgarden opened for Guns N' Roses over 20 years ago.

"What I remember most was Duff [McKagen] and Slash and everyone else being regualar, sweet, warm guys in a rock band taht just wanted to play rock music," he told the magazine. "And then, like, there was this Wizard of Oz character behind the curtain that seemed to complicate what was the most ideal situation they could ever have been in.

"They were the most successful and famous rock band on the planet. Every single show, hundreds of thousands of fans just wanted to hear songs.

"For some reason there seemed to be this obstacle in just going out and participating in that."

Guns N' Roses debut album, Appetite for Destruction, is the highest selling debut album ever, having sold more than 28 million copies worldwide.

But the band crashed and burnt in a sea of collosal egos and troubles with drugs.

While recording their second album drummer Steve Adler was fired for being unable to perform due to his addiction to cocain and heroin.

Axl Rose on stage earlier this year

The 'Use Your Illusion' Tour saw the infamous Riverport Riot.

While mid-song, Axl Rose spotted a fan recording the band on a handheld camera. After instructing security to confiscate the camera, Rose jumped into the corwd, assulted the fan and announced he was 'going home'.

Rose has since continued with Guns N' Roses without his original band mates.

Chris Cornell recently brought his band Soundgarden back together after a 13-year hiatus that saw him fronting supergroup Audioslave and releasing three full solo albums.

Below: money or love? Why Soundgarden, Stone Roses and more got back together