Black Sabbath also had a huge impact on the band's sound, especially on the guitar riffs and tunings. Joel McIver stated: "Soundgarden are one of the bands I've heard closest to the original Sabbath sound." Soundgarden, like other early grunge bands, were also influenced by British post-punk bands such as Gang of Four and Bauhaus which were popular in the early 1980s Seattle scene. Cornell himself said: "When Soundgarden formed we were post-punk – pretty quirky. Then somehow we found this neo-Sabbath psychedelic rock that fitted well with who we were." Thayil described the band's sound as a "Sabbath-influenced punk".