'Audioslave' was an
American rock supergroup that consisted of the former instrumentalists of
Rage Against the Machine;
Tom Morello (
guitar),
Tim Commerford (
bass and
backing vocals) and
Brad Wilk (
drums), together with
Chris Cornell, the former frontman of
Soundgarden, as
lead vocalist and
rhythm guitarist. The band formed in
Los Angeles,
California in 2001, shortly after the break-up of Rage Against the Machine.
Although during the early stages of their career the band was often described as an amalgamation of two bands, Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden,
[1] or Rage Against the Machine's fractured parts fronted by a different vocalist,
[2][3] by the time of the release of the second album, ''
Out of Exile'', most critics agreed that Audioslave was more than just the sum of its parts
[4][5] and members were getting closer to finding their identity as a cohesive band.
[6][7][8] While their albums were released to gradually decreasing sales, their third and last album, ''
Revelations'' still reached #2 in the
United States and was the best-received by critics with regard to its consistency.
The band's trademark sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock influences (their music was often compared to
Led Zeppelin or
Black Sabbath) with the 1990s
grunge sound of
Nirvana and Soundgarden. Moreover, Morello incorporated his well-known, unconventional guitar solos into this mix. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitar, bass, drums and vocals, and no
samples were ever used.
After releasing three highly successful albums, receiving three Grammy nominations, selling more than 8 million records worldwide,
[9][10] and becoming the first American rock band to perform a concert in
Cuba, Chris Cornell issued a statement that he was permanently leaving the band "due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences". The announcement came less than a month after Morello, Commerford and Wilk announced that they would be reuniting with their former vocalist
Zack de la Rocha to reform Rage Against the Machine. As the three were busy with reunion performances and with Morello and Cornell both releasing solo albums in 2007, Audioslave was officially disbanded.
[11]
History
Formation (2000–2001)
Main articles: Rage Against the Machine,
Soundgarden
Audioslave's history dates back to
October 18,
2000, when lead vocalist
Zack de la Rocha announced he was leaving
Rage Against the Machine, which led to the band's break-up.
[12] The remaining three members of the band decided to stay together and announced plans to continue with a new vocalist.
[13] Several vocalists jammed with the band at this time, including
B-Real of
Cypress Hill, but they did not want another
rapper or anybody who would even remotely sound like de la Rocha.
[14] Music producer and friend,
Rick Rubin later suggested that they jam with
Chris Cornell, the ex-frontman of
Soundgarden.
[15] Rubin also persuaded the three of them to go into
group therapy with performance coach
Phil Towle (who famously worked with
Metallica during the making of ''
St. Anger'') after the break-up.
[15] Rubin was confident that with the right new voice Rage Against the Machine had the potential to become a better band. He was quoted in a January 2001 ''
Rolling Stone'' article saying "it could turn into a
Yardbirds-into-
Led Zeppelin scenario." He also referred to
Tom Morello as "the
Jimmy Page of today."
[17] Bassist
Tim Commerford later credited Rubin for being the catalyst that brought Audioslave together, he called him "the angel at the crossroads because if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here today."
[18]
The chemistry between Cornell and the three musicians became immediately apparent, as Morello described: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It didn't sound great. It sounded transcendent. And ... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it."
[14] The quartet wrote 21 songs during the 19 days of rehearsal,
[18] with "Light My Way" being the first song they ever wrote, on the very first day together.
[21] The newly-formed band, yet to be named, began working in the studio in late May 2001 with Rick Rubin as producer, while still sorting out the label and management issues.
[22]
Name
The original idea for the band's name was "Civilian", but it was dropped when members found out that it was already taken. Although both Commerford and Cornell had admitted this,
[23][24] it was, contradicting the other band members, discredited by Morello for unknown reasons in an interview saying it was only a rumour circulating at that time. He stated: "The band has only ever had one name and that is Audioslave."
[25]
Morello described the origin of the "Audioslave" name to
LAUNCHcast as follows:
The name makes use of the
compound word format used by Cornell's previous band, Soundgarden, for their moniker.
After the name was announced, it emerged that it was already being used by an unsigned band from
Liverpool. The two bands worked out a settlement, with Audioslave paying $30,000 in a deal that allowed each band to use the name. Part of the agreement was that each band was to be true to its own identity when marketing and promoting recordings or concerts.
[26]
The name was also heavily mocked due to its uninspired nature,
[27] and was regarded by some critics as one of the worst band names in contemporary rock music,
[28] or even of all time.
[29] Pitchfork Media called it the "most asinine bandname of the year" in its review of the debut album,
[30] while
Chuck Klosterman from ''
Spin'' called it "one of the dumbest band names in recent rock history."
[31]
''Audioslave'' (2002–2003)
On
March 19,
2002 Audioslave was confirmed for the seventh annual
Ozzfest, even though at that time they did not yet have an official name or release date for their debut album.
[ Cornell/Rage Band Set For OzzFest ] A few days later, on March 25, reports started surfacing that the band broke up, before they had played in front of a public audience.
[32] Cornell's manager Jim Guerinot confirmed that the frontman had left the unnamed project, with no explanation given.
[ Cornell/Rage Split Leaves OzzFest Looking For Replacement ] It was stated that the recorded material would still be released in the summer, regardless of the band's future.
[ Cornell/Rage Split Leaves OzzFest Looking For Replacement ]
Under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project"), thirteen rough rehearsal demo tracks were leaked onto various
peer-to-peer filesharing networks on May 16.
[ Rage/Cornell-Credited Tracks Get Leaked Online ] According to Morello "it was very frustrating, especially with a band like this, there is a certain amount of expectation."
[25] He also said that the songs were not in their finished form and that in some cases "they weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind."
[25] In an earlier, July 2002 interview with
Metal sludge he spoke more explicitly about the incident, blaming "some jackass intern at
Bad Animal Studios in
Seattle" for stealing the demos and putting them on the Internet without the band's permission.
[35]
Initial rumors suggested that Cornell took issue with having two managers actively involved in the project (Jim Guerinot of
Rebel Waltz represented Cornell, and Peter Mensch of Q Prime handled Rage Against the Machine).
[36] In a subsequent interview the band revealed that the split, in fact, was not triggered by personal conflicts, but by their quarreling managers, although they did not want to go into detail about any specific reason.
[23] After the mixing of the album was finished, roughly six weeks later, the group reformed and simultaneously fired their former management companies and hired a third-party company,
The Firm.
[38] Their previous labels,
Epic and
Interscope, also settled their differences by agreeing to alternate who releases their albums—Epic released the first album, Interscope the second, and future releases would continue to flip between the two.
[39]
The band's official name was finally divulged and a web site was launched in early September. "
Cochise", the first single, named after
the famous American Indian chief, the last to die free and unconquered,
[40] was posted online for listening on September 25, and hit the radio in early October. The song was well-received, critics praised Cornell's vocal style, a distinct departure from the rapping that accompanied Rage Against the Machine's music,
[41][42] and found that "the former members of RATM have gone and done a
Paul Weller, retreating from the ground they broke back into the sounds that inspired them."
[43]
Music video director,
Mark Romanek shot a video for "Cochise" on September 25 and 26,
[44] which debuted a month later on
MTV2. It shows the band playing atop an under-construction tower in the midst of a giant fireworks display providing all the lighting. The firework explosions of the video prompted fears of a terrorist attack among residents living near
Los Angeles'
Sepulveda Dam. Reportedly, the local police and news station received hundreds of calls the night it was filmed from people who feared that the city was under siege.
[44] The shooting was the first time Audioslave performed in front of somewhat of an audience, as they only had private rehearsals before.
[46] The video won an MVPA Award in the "Brass Knuckles Award for Rock Video of the Year" category in 2003, the same year Mark Romanek won in the "Director of the Year" category.
[47]
'' DVD.
[48]]]
The self-titled debut album, ''
Audioslave'' was released on
November 19,
2002 and entered the
Billboard 200 chart at position number seven after selling 162,000 copies in its first week.
[49] It was certified
gold by the
RIAA less than a month after its release,
[50] and by 2006 it had achieved triple platinum selling status.
[51] It is the most successful Audioslave album to date, having sold more than 3 million copies in the
United States alone.
Despite its commercial success, ''Audioslave'' received mixed reviews. Some critics lambasted the group's effort as uninspired,
[52] and predictable.
[53] Pitchfork Media's reviewers Chris Dahlen and Ryan Schreiber praised Cornell's voice, but criticized virtually every other part of the album, calling it "the worst kind of studio rock album, rigorously controlled-- even undercut-- by studio gimmickry." They described Cornell's lyrics as "complete gibberish" and called producer Rick Rubin's work "a synthesized rock-like product that emits no heat."
[54] Jon Monks from
Stylus Magazine had the same opinion. He considered Rubin's production over-polished and wrote that "lacking individuality, distinction and imagination this album is over-produced, overlong and over-indulgent."
[55] On the other hand, other critics praised the supergroup's style reminiscent of 1970s
rock music and compared it to
Led Zeppelin and
Black Sabbath,
[ Rock/Indie Review – Audioslave, Audioslave McAuliffe, Amy ][56] saying they add much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream rock music,
[57] and have the potential to become one of the best rock bands of the 21st century.
[58]
Audioslave made their live debut on
November 25,
2002, performing a brief concert on the roof of the
Ed Sullivan Theater on
Broadway in
New York City, for the
Late Show with David Letterman. This was the first time any band had appeared on Letterman's marquee.
[ AUDIOSLAVE/AUDIOSLAVE DVD VIDEO ] Their performance of "Cochise" aired on the show, but after the show ended they continued playing for the crowd gathered below. Their set included "Light My Way," "Set It Off," another rendition of "Cochise," "Like a Stone," "Exploder," and "Gasoline."
[59] That year's
KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas, however, was their first official, paying concert, where the band played on the first night,
December 7,
2002, and also gave a secret club show the night before.
[60] Towards the end of the band's six song set, Cornell told the audience, "These guys saved my life this year,"
[61] and the show ended with his bandmates hugging him.
[62] Afterwards, asked to expand on his comments, he would only say that he had dragged the trio "through a trail of shit" in the past months.
There was a rumour circulating at this time that suggested the singer had checked himself into
drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview for ''
Metal Hammer'' that was actually conducted from a payphone in a rehab clinic.
In a San Diego CityBEAT article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, as he entered rehab and stayed in for two months before the record was even released and also separated from his wife, Susan Silver.
[63] He credited Morello, Commerford and Wilk with helping him rebound from the difficult period. He also dismissed the rumours in various interviews about him being in rehab for
OxyContin or
heroin, but when asked, he only offered, "Various things. I'm not picky. Mainly for drinking."
[64] Only months after the break-up of the band did Cornell reveal that he appeared in the "Cochise" video in the middle of his 30-day alcohol rehab spell, and after the shoot was over he was driven back to the institute.
[65]
"
Like a Stone" was chosen as the second single from ''Audioslave'', and was released in early 2003 with an accompanying music video. It was the highest charting single from the album, peaking at #1 on ''
Billboard's both
Mainstream Rock Tracks and
Modern Rock Tracks charts.
[66] It was also certified gold by the RIAA, making it Audioslave's most successful single ever.
[67] However, the third selected single, "
Show Me How to Live" was not without controversy. Its music video paid homage to a
1971 road movie, ''
Vanishing Point'' by following its plot and also using actual footage from the film. The video shows band members in a replica of the film's
1970 Dodge Challenger travelling across the desert, with Cornell behind the wheel. It was banned from
MTV, reportedly because it features the frontman in a high-speed car chase running police cars and motorcycles off the road.
[68] The band's first
DVD, simply entitled ''
Audioslave'' was released on
July 29,
2003, containing the three music videos shot so far, two live songs performed on the Late Show with David Letterman in November 2002, and interviews with all four members.
The band toured extensively worldwide in 2003, gaining largely positive reviews for their live performances,
[69][70][71] including that year's revived
Lollapalooza, on which they were one of the most anticipated acts and sometimes even overshadowed the headlining re-united
Jane's Addiction.
[72][73]
''Out of Exile'' (2004–2005)
In 2004, Audioslave was among the nominees for the
46th Grammy Awards: "Like a Stone" was nominated for "
Best Hard Rock Performance" and ''Audioslave'' was nominated for "
Best Rock Album." The band did not win in either category; the Grammies were awarded to
Evanescence and
Foo Fighters, respectively.
[74] They spent the rest of 2004 on break from touring, and working on the second album. This also gave Morello time to concentrate on his solo project,
The Nightwatchman, and take an active part in political activities, most prominently in the work of
Axis of Justice. Cornell had time to focus on his personal life; after his divorce from his first wife, Susan Silver was finalized, he married Vicky Karayiannis, a
Paris-based publicist he met during the first European Audioslave tour.
[63]
Work on a new album had already started in 2003 on the Lollapalooza tour during free time backstage and on the bus,
[76] and continued at the end of the year when band members entered the studio. Aside from writing new material, the band also had some leftover songs from the ''Audioslave'' sessions they could choose from, they had "almost another album's worth of stuff [already done]," according to Morello.
[44] By July 2004, they had 22 new songs written and were halfway through recording them with producer Rick Rubin.
[78]
B side of the limited edition 7" picture disc of the "
Be Yourself" single. The artwork contains pictures taken by contest winning Audioslave fans.
In early spring 2005, Audioslave announced that their follow-up album's recording was completed. In addition, the band also revealed six song titles, the first single, and the US release date. They were still considering which other six songs to put on the record, while mixing the album.
[79] "
Be Yourself", the first single from the still untitled album was made available for
streaming at the band's official web site on March 12, and hit the radio on March 14. The band ran a competition, in which contestants had to sign up, and then send a picture of themselves, giving fans an opportunity of appearing on the single's
7" picture disc version.
[80] Though only the best ten were supposed to appear on the artwork,
[80] the record was released with more than ten pictures on its B side.
"Be Yourself" was heavily panned by critics, saying it was "limp and the lyrics are bland and directionless."
[82] It was described by different reviewers as having a similar sound to various other rock bands:
U2,
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and
Coldplay among others.
[82] Nevertheless, it became Audioslave's second most successful single behind "Like a Stone", achieving the same chart positions—#1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks—but remaining without any RIAA certification.
[66] It is also one of the few Audioslave songs to have a very radio-friendly, poppish tune,
[85] and is probably one of their most well-known songs. It had spent three weeks at number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart,
[86] and six weeks on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,
[87] most likely due to the frequent airplay on radio stations, evidenced by its #5 place on ''
R&R's annual "Rock 2005 Year-End Chart".
[88] In 2006, the song was also chosen to be featured on the ''
One Tree Hill Volume 2''
soundtrack compilation CD, a benefit album with a portion of the proceeds donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
On March 22, the band announced that they had set "Out of Exile" as the title of their new album, then launched a spring club tour, preceding the album release, lasting from April 14 to May 20. While on their previous tours behind the first album they never played any songs by their former bands, only occasional covers of other bands, for example,
Funkadelic's "Super Stupid",
[70] Rush's "
Working Man",
[71] or
The White Stripes' "
Seven Nation Army",
[72] this time they decided to perform both Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden songs on the tour. It was a conscious decision made by members of the band not to use those songs as a "crutch" the first time around to "help sell and break Audioslave," but rather establish it as an "independent entity".
[92] After attaining that goal, they thought it was "time to own those histories",
[92] and began performing a selection of the two bands' most popular songs, including Soundgarden's "
Spoonman", "
Outshined", and "
Black Hole Sun", and Rage Against the Machine's "
Bulls on Parade", "
Sleep Now in the Fire", and "
Killing in the Name".
[94]
The music video for "Be Yourself" debuted in late April. Inspired by
The Beatles' ''
Let It Be'', it does not have an actual plot; the video only shows the band playing the song in a room with lighting effects in the background. Cornell described the idea as follows: "If you watch 'Let It Be', the look of the film makes the band look like it's an important happening. I just wanted to look important, like things looked when I was a child."
[95]
The second single, "
Your Time Has Come" was released through a unique promotion, lasting from April 27 to May 3, which involved radio listeners around the world.
[96] Radio stations were asked to post a link on their web sites to a special timed-out download of the song. Once one million people clicked on the link, the song was unlocked and became downloadable by all one million.
Audioslave was the first American band to play a free open-air concert in
Cuba on
May 6,
2005. The performance was recorded for the ''
Live in Cuba'' DVD.
On
May 6,
2005, Audioslave played a free show in
Havana,
Cuba, in front of an audience of an estimated 50,000 at the La Tribuna Antiimperialista José Martí (
José Martí Anti-Imperialist Tribunal) venue, which was originally purpose-built in 2000 for mass protests against the US government.
[97] It was a historic event, as Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform an open-air concert in the communist country of Cuba. The band travelled to Havana—bringing along their camera crew to film the entire show for a future DVD release—on May 4 to spend the two days before the concert visiting several historic sites and interacting with Cuban musicians and youths.
[98] Morello and the rest of the band insisted that the trip was not to make a political statement, but to take part in a musical cultural exchange. Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries."
[99] The trip was organized with the joint authorization of the
United States Department of the Treasury and the Instituto Cubano de la Musica (Cuban Institute of Music),
[100] as travel by US citizens to Cuba is restricted, but the authorization arrived so late that the band had to cancel and postpone several confirmed dates of their US tour.
[99] The concert was the longest the band had ever given,
[99] with a 26-song set, including new songs from the still unreleased second album, as well as Soundgarden, and Rage Against the Machine songs, and a jam with the local opening act, singer
X Alfonso.
[97]
Another free show followed, on May 18 on
Hollywood Boulevard, outside the
Hollywood and Highland complex, where over 10,000 fans gathered to see the band's performance that was also broadcast on
Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
[104] After waiting for 90 minutes, and then facing interruptions as the show stopped for commercials, the fans started a riot, fighting each other and breaking down barriers, while the band started playing "Killing in the Name". Los Angeles
riot police were called to intervene, and no one was injured seriously.
[105]
The band's second album, ''
Out of Exile'', was released internationally on
May 23,
2005, then a day later in the United States. It debuted #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the only Audioslave album to achieve this position. The following week, however, it dropped to #3, with a 62 percent sales decrease
[106] - consequently reaching only platinum selling status.
[107] Cornell admitted to writing his most personal songs ever on this album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002.
[108] He also described the album as more varied than the debut and relying a bit less on heavy guitar riffs.
[63] Moreover, both Morello and Cornell talked about ''Out of Exile'' sounding less like Rage Against the Machine combined with Soundgarden, mostly due to the fact that members had spent 3 years together since their formation.
[78][63]
The album received slightly more favorable reviews than the debut effort, critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking,
[112] and pointed out that ''Out Of Exile'' is "the sound of a band coming into its own."
[113] All Music Guide editor
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who gave ''Audioslave'' a lukewarm review, praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable",
[7] and while
David Fricke from ''Rolling Stone'' only rated it as 3 stars out of 5, he admitted that "''Out of Exile'' finds the band on the march and closer to a new whole."
[115] Cornell's lyrics were still a common complaint, Vik Bansal from
musicOMH.com wrote that his lyrics "continue to border on the ridiculous",
[116] and the album's softer, slower approach was frequently criticized as well.
[116][118]
Following the album's release, the band embarked on a European tour, performed at the
Live 8 benefit concert in
Berlin,
Germany on July 2, and started their first headlining arena tour in North America on September 25, which lasted until November 18. On these tours, the band added a Soundgarden song "
Loud Love",
[119] and
Temple of the Dog songs "
Call Me A Dog", "All Night Thing", and "
Hunger Strike" to their live repertoire.
[120]
The music video for "
Doesn't Remind Me", the third single from ''Out of Exile'', was posted online on September 22. The
anti-Iraq war video, which shows how war can tear a family apart, was awarded "Video of the Year" at the 2006 MVPA Awards.
[121]
Audioslave's second DVD, entitled
Live in Cuba, containing the May 6 concert in Havana, Cuba, was released on
October 11,
2005. It came in two versions, the regular edition included 14 songs out of the 26-song set, and the deluxe edition included 18 songs and a bonus CD of the band's performance at
Sessions@AOL in August. The DVD was certified platinum in less than two months.
[122]
''Revelations'', and breakup (2006–2007)
The band received their third Grammy nomination at the
48th Grammy Awards in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category for their song "Doesn't Remind Me", but lost to
System of a Down.
[123] Audioslave wasted no time recording their next album; Cornell had already expressed his intentions to make "an album every year or year-and-a-half" before the tracklist of ''Out of Exile'' was even finalized.
[124] Then, in late summer, after the conclusion of the European tour the band returned to studio to write new songs, because their aim was to "blur the lines between rehearsing, recording and touring", as Morello said.
[119] The actual studio time began in January 2006, with plans to release the third album in June.
[ Audioslave Turn To Rage/Soundgarden Producer For Third LP ] This time, the band chose ''Out of Exile's mixer,
Brendan O'Brien as producer. Both Cornell and Rage Against the Machine members had a common past with O'Brien aside from ''Out of Exile''. O'Brien mixed Soundgarden's ''
Superunknown'' and produced Rage Against the Machine's ''
Evil Empire'' and ''
The Battle of Los Angeles''.
Audioslave had 20 songs written and as the bulk was sampled during their 2005 tour, the recording process took only five weeks.
[ Audioslave Turn To Rage/Soundgarden Producer For Third LP ] They ended up recording 16 tracks during this time.
[126]. The album's title, "Revelations" was revealed on March 22. The release date was postponed to early autumn, and the band cancelled their previously announced European tour because of this, to have a new album to support, when they embarked on touring.
[127]
The first single off the album, "
Original Fire" was made available online on Audioslave's official website for free streaming on July 11. It debuted on radio stations on July 17, and was released at the end of August. Morello described it as hard-rocking, but with a '70s
funk and
soul influence.
[128] The song divided critics, it was either praised as a "classic Audioslave track with an original sound",
[129] or denounced as "an utterly pointless few minutes of jangly '70s rock."
[130]
The band filmed a music video for the song with director
P. R. Brown on June 29.
[131] The musical style of the song, and the lyrics inspired the band to shoot a video, which features the band playing, while parts of the lyrics and images of famous cultural figures, that were inspirational to the band, are projected onto the background and the members themselves. Morello said the video is "about the thread of music and cultural figures with integrity that were important parts of our history – how all those streams flow together to where we are today."
[128]
Several songs appeared from ''Revelations'' on movie and video game soundtracks before the album's release. "
Wide Awake" and "
Shape of Things to Come" were featured in
Michael Mann's ''
Miami Vice''. This was not the first time Mann had featured Audioslave in his work; his earlier film ''
Collateral'' featured the song "Shadow On The Sun" from the group's self-titled debut. The title song, "
Revelations", was also featured on the soundtrack for the
EA Sports football video game ''
Madden NFL 07''. Video game appearance was also not a novelty for the band; "Cochise" from Audioslave was in the main setlist of ''
Guitar Hero'', while two songs from ''Out of Exile'', "Your Time Has Come" and "Man Or Animal", were featured on the racing game, ''
FlatOut 2''.
News about Cornell's departure first emerged in July, when insiders stated that after the third album he would split for a solo career.
[133] The singer immediately denied the rumors, stating "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. ... I always just ignore [them]."
[134] In the same interview, he also discussed his new solo album, the second in seven years, his intentions to record it before summer's end and how its songs do not sound anything like Audioslave.
A special
marketing campaign preceded the new album's release in August, when the art concept was featured on
Google Earth as a fictional utopian island, Audioslave Nation, created in the
South Pacific. ''
Revelations'' was released on
September 5,
2006. The album entered the Billboard 200 at #2 and sold 142,000 copies during its first week of release.
[135] Despite the relatively good start, it is the band's least commercially successful album; dropping even faster than Out of Exile, its sales were down 65 percent the following week,
[136] achieving gold certification by the RIAA a month later.
[137] The album showed funk, soul and
R&B influences that were non-existent for the band before; Morello referred to the new sound as "Led Zeppelin Meets
Earth, Wind & Fire".
[126] Additionally, several songs took a more overtly liberal political stance than previous Audioslave releases.
The album received a similar critical response to ''Out of Exile'' with the majority of reviewers praising the band's integrity on the record; Brian D. Schiller from
Slant Magazine wrote that "''Revelations'' is one step closer to their mutation into a more unified rock outfit."
[139] The new funk and soul influences were also welcomed favorably, All Music Guide's Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album Audioslave's "most colorful, diverse, and consistent record yet."
[140] Many others, however, saw it as "just another rock record",
[141] and musically not much different from the previous album.
[142]
Cornell decided to delay the ''Revelations''-tour in support of the new album until 2007, because he wanted to "let the album come out for awhile" and concentrate on his second solo album.
[143] The rest of the band went along, Morello also revealed his plans to release his first solo album (see
below) in the spring. The second, and final single from the album, "
Revelations" was released in October 2006 with an accompanying music video a month later.
On
January 22,
2007, Rage Against the Machine was announced to reunite for one show only, the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, on
April 29,
2007. Less than a month later, on
February 15,
2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, issuing this statement:
He stated that, as far as he is concerned, Audioslave is finished, "Unless they want to go find another singer and go make other Audioslave records – then maybe they can have two bands, with a different singer for Rage and a different singer for Audioslave, and they could go on tour and open for each other.", and that a greatest hits collection will be issued in the future, because of label commitments.
[144] He also dismissed the possibility of a Soundgarden reunion. The ''
New York Post'' reported that according to sources the split was not about "irresolvable personality conflicts" but about the money, a friend of Cornell said: "Chris was unhappy with the financial arrangement within the group – he wrote all the music, yet the other three bandmates took an equal share in the multimillion-dollar publishing rights."
[145]
Morello has said that he never officially heard and "still haven't heard" from Cornell that he was leaving the group.
[146] Cornell countered: "Tom and I did have communications about the fact that I was gonna go make a record, and that I was tired of what ended up seeming like political negotiations toward how we were gonna do Audioslave business and getting nowhere with it."
[147] He also added that this process of "doing Audioslave business" led him to go solo.
[147]
The Rage Against the Machine reunion at Coachella was said to be a one-off, but it turned out differently; the reunited band has performed at several more events in 2007, including shows as part of
Rock the Bells festival series with the
Wu-Tang Clan, the
Voodoo Music Experience, and the
Vegoose festival. Morello stated that they have no plans for a full tour,
[149] or a new Rage album.
[150]
Musical style and influences
Audioslave mixed different genres in their music. Combining hard rock with grunge, they created a distinctive sound of their own.
[151] This unique mix was driven by Chris Cornell's wide vocal range,
[152] his trademark lyrics, often dealing with the themes of
existentialism,
[151] and Tom Morello's innovative, and sonically experimental guitar solos and was backed with the rhythm section of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford.
[154] Morello, although stating he "never felt musically limited" in Rage Against the Machine, did say that he had "a lot more scope to explore with Audioslave" and a "wider musical territory."
[155] This meant that, for the first time, the instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine had the opportunity to write slow and melodic songs, which was something they had not done before.
While the first two albums drew influences from 1970s hard rock bands such as Led Zeppelin or Black Sabbath and from the members' two former bands, the grunge band Soundgarden and the
funk metal band Rage Against the Machine,
[156] the third album, ''Revelations'' was influenced by 1960s and '70s funk, soul and R&B music. Morello used vintage guitars and amplifiers to achieve the desired sound, and Cornell adopted what he called his "seventies funk and R&B-flavor vocals."
[157] The guitarist also cited the band's favorites,
Sly & the Family Stone,
James Brown and
Funkadelic, as a reason for the funk overtones on the album.
[158]
Just as Rage Against the Machine did, Audioslave always included the statement "All sounds made by guitar, bass, drums, and vocals" in their albums' booklets.
[159]
Songwriting and recording process
All the band's lyrics were written by Chris Cornell, while all four members—as a band—were credited with writing the music. Their songwriting process was described by Brad Wilk as "more collaborative" and "more satisfying" than Rage Against the Machine's, which was "more of a battle creatively."
[160] Cornell felt the same way, he saw his former band, Soundgarden's songwriting method inferior to Audioslave's.
[160] Rick Rubin, producer of the band's first two albums, was also lauded as "a great collaborative partner" and was called "the fifth Beatle" by Tom Morello.
[78]
The time spent on songwriting by the band was always unusually short. They wrote 21 songs in 19 days for the first album, they exceeded that rate with the second album's writing phase by having a song or sometimes two written a day,
[163] and this pattern was adopted for the third album as well.
[164]
Cornell's battle with drug addiction and alcoholism was a defining factor in the writing and recording process. Even though the singer admitted that he was "never able to write effectively", while drinking,
[165] and attended rehab after recording the debut album, Morello stated ''Revelations'' was "the first record he (Cornell) didn't smoke, drink or take drugs through the recording."
[166]
Political agenda
While Rage Against the Machine's music was politically influenced, Audioslave's originally was not, as Chris Cornell said he did not want to become the new singer of Rage Against the Machine or be in a political band, but he would play any benefits the other band members want to.
[167] Despite his reluctance to write political lyrics, he himself never discounted the possibility; he already touched upon political issues on the debut album in the form of "Set It Off", a song inspired by 1999's
WTO riots (the "
Battle of Seattle"),
[168] then later wrote an anti-war song, "Sound of a Gun",
[169] and what Morello called "the most political song Audioslave's ever written", "Wide Awake" for ''Revelations''.
[126] The latter was an attack on the
Bush administration's failure to act over the consequences of
Hurricane Katrina.
The band was openly anti-
Bush and anti-
Iraq War from the beginning, on
March 17,
2003, only hours after president Bush announced plans to invade Iraq, the band performed live in Hollywood with messages reading "How many Iraqis per gallon?" and "Somewhere in
Texas, a Village is Missing an Idiot," scrolled across the stage.
[171] The music video for "Doesn't Remind Me" was also a harsh criticism on the Iraq war, and drummer Brad Wilk called George Bush "a fucking scam" in an interview, when criticizing the Bush administration's rationale for war in Iraq.
[172]
During the time of the second album's release several politically charged Rage Against the Machine songs resurfaced in the band's live set, and their trip to Cuba was also a politically important event, even though the members committed to not making political statements while in the country. Tim Commerford stated in an interview that the concert in Cuba made Audioslave more politically active than Rage Against the Machine ever was.
[173] While in Cuba, Cornell said that he takes "every aspect of human life" into consideration, when it comes to writing lyrics, and that he would write about the experience in a song, or more songs,
[174] which ultimately culminated in the political influences on ''Revelations'', although he did not write about Cuba specifically. He added that he feels Audioslave can be a band like U2, which is "not overtly political, but
Bono gets a lot done."
[174] That year, the band played at two more concerts, organised to raise political awareness:
Live 8, the concert series aimed to end global poverty, and the Hurricane Katrina benefit concert, .
Audioslave was prominently involved in the
Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization formed by Tom Morello and
Serj Tankian of System of a Down to "bring together musicians, fans of music, and
grassroots political organizations to fight for
social justice."
[176] Axis of Justice tents were set up at almost every Audioslave show, and with the exception of Tim all band members appeared on the ''
Concert Series Volume 1'' CD/DVD charity album released in 2004.
Solo projects
Main articles: Chris Cornell,
The Nightwatchman
Lead singer Chris Cornell released a solo album, entitled ''
Euphoria Morning'', in 1999, between leaving Soundgarden and forming Audioslave. He continued his solo career 7 years later, when he started writing songs for a second album during the summer of 2006,
[177] and was also asked to record the theme song to the 21st
James Bond film, ''
Casino Royale''. Cornell wrote "
You Know My Name", jointly with
David Arnold, which debuted on
November 13,
2006. It is the first Bond theme not to be included on its film's soundtrack album. However, it was featured on his second solo album, ''
Carry On'', released on
June 5,
2007.
Guitarist Tom Morello also started performing solo under the name
The Nightwatchman in 2003, after he felt he was not active enough politically in his music, Audioslave being a completely non-political band. Inspired by
Woody Guthrie and
Bob Dylan, he first performed in small clubs, coffeeshops in California before participating in the Tell Us the Truth Tour, conceived to protest media consolidation and globalization.
[178] When on tour with Audioslave, he would sign up anonymously for open mic nights, then he went on playing at political rallies and demonstrations.
[179] He initially had no plans to record, but the day after the
2004 presidential election, he decided he would make a The Nightwatchman album, that could only materialize after the break-up of Audioslave.
[179] Prior to that, he recorded the song "No One Left" in 2004 for ''
Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11''. His first album ''
One Man Revolution'' was released on
April 24,
2007. The 13-track set was produced by Brendan O'Brien and sported more acoustic-based compositions than his work in Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine.
Although bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk do not have solo projects, they both have contributed to
Maynard James Keenan's side project
Puscifer.
[ Muzak 02/24/07 Keenan, Maynard James ] The first Puscifer album, ''
V Is for Vagina'' will be released on
October 30,
2007.
Discography
Main articles: Audioslave discography
References
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3. Reviewer critiques pop music in terms of family values Knopper, Steve
4. Audioslave Patriquin, Martin
5. Music: Review - Audioslave Out of Exile Gray, Christopher
6. Audioslave – Out of Exile review Brecheisen, Dave
7. Out of Exile Review Erlewine, Stephen Thomas
8. Out of Exile review Kaye, Don
9. New CD Releases
10. TOTAL By Artists Name 06-07
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13. Rage Against The Machine Biography Ankeny, Jason
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15. Audioslave: Pushing Forward Back O'Brien, Clare
16. Audioslave: Pushing Forward Back O'Brien, Clare
17. The Last Days of Rage? Fricke, David
18. Audioslave: Pushing Forward Back O'Brien, Clare
19. Audioslave: Unshackled, Ready To Rage Moss, Corey; Parry, Heather
20. Audioslave: Pushing Forward Back O'Brien, Clare
21. Feature Article - Regrouping In The Name of DeVaney, Scott
22. Rage And Cornell To Enter Studio Next Week
23. Audioslave: Unshackled, Ready To Rage (cont.) Moss, Corey; Parry, Heather
24. Ewing, Jerry. "Straight Outta Rehab". ''Metal Hammer''. December 2002, Iss. 108.
25. Audioslave to the Rhythm Cashmere, Tim
26. Audioslave Works Out Settlement To Share Name With U.K. Band
27. Audioslave album review Kaye, Don
28. Audioslave album review Jansen, Bryan
29. Best & Worst Band Names Seely, Mike
30. Audioslave album review Dahlen, Chris; Schreiber, Ryan
31. Audioslave - Audioslave review Klosterman, Chuck
32. Chris Cornell-Rage Against The Machine Project Over?
33. Audioslave to the Rhythm Cashmere, Tim
34. Audioslave to the Rhythm Cashmere, Tim
35. 20 Questions with… Rage Against The Machine Guitarist Tom Morello Anderson, Donna
36. Rage, Cornell Unshackle Audioslave
37. Audioslave: Unshackled, Ready To Rage (cont.) Moss, Corey; Parry, Heather
38. Out of exile and into Austin
39. Audioslave: Sophmore Album due in June
40. Audioslave, Ex-Rage Cornell Band, Announces Tracklist
41. Audioslave – Cochise (single) Review
42. Stoke & Staffordshire Music – Singles review Lee, Matt
43. Reviews – Singles – Audioslave - Cochise Nettleton, Chris
44. Morello Says Audioslave Have Songs For Second LP Already
45. Morello Says Audioslave Have Songs For Second LP Already
46. Audioslave To Tour Oz
47. music video award winners 2003
48. About Storm's Art Thorgerson, Storm
49. Audioslave, Mudvayne Debut In Billboard's Top 20
50. Audioslave Land Gold Album
51. Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Search Results - Audioslave
52. Audioslave - Audioslave - Review Lynch, Andrew
53. Probably Not – Audioslave review Tate, Greg
54. Audioslave: Audioslave: Pitchfork Record Review Dahlen, Chris; Schreiber, Ryan
55. Audioslave – Audioslave - Review Monks, Jon
56. Audioslave: Audioslave (2002) review Jeres
57. Music: Review - Audioslave Audioslave Gray, Christopher
58. Album Reviews: Audioslave - ''Audioslave'' Heath, Chris
59. Late Show with David Letterman - Monday, November 25, 2002 Show #1912 Z. McIntee, Michael
60. Audioslave Deliver Like Santa Claus, Creed Booed At Radio Show
61. Brannigan, Paul. "Last Orders". ''Kerrang!''. February 1, 2003, Iss. 940.
62. Hug-Happy Audioslave Choose 'Like A Stone' As Next Single
63. A Career in Slavery Sculley, Alan
64. Chris Cornell Admits To Stint In Rehab: 'It's Like School'
65. Cornell shot Audioslave video in the middle of rehab recovery
66. Artist Chart History - Audioslave
67. Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Search Results
68. Banned Audioslave Video Posted Online
69. Concert Review – Audioslave 26 February 2003: Riviera Theatre — Chicago Slowikowski, Tim
70. Concert Review: Audioslave Gives Faithful Fans What They Want Hyland, David
71. Live: Audioslave Melton, Tim
72. Lollapalooza concert at Fiddler's Green, Denver, Colorado 2003 Paulik, Laurie
73. Lollapalooza, 2003 Boyett, Kenny
74. 46th Grammy Awards - 2004
75. A Career in Slavery Sculley, Alan
76. Audioslave To Work On Next Album After Lollapalooza
77. Morello Says Audioslave Have Songs For Second LP Already
78. Audioslave's Morello Says New LP Feels Less Like Soundgarden + Rage
79. Audioslave: New Album Details Revealed
80. Audioslave competition
81. Audioslave competition
82. The Singles Jukebox - Singles Going Steady
83. The Singles Jukebox - Singles Going Steady
84. Artist Chart History - Audioslave
85. Audioslave - Be Yourself review Starbuck
86. Stefani Single Ousts 50 Cent From No. 1
87. 'Hollaback' Has Singles Chart Staying Power
88. Rock 2005 Year-End Chart
89. Concert Review: Audioslave Gives Faithful Fans What They Want Hyland, David
90. Live: Audioslave Melton, Tim
91. Lollapalooza concert at Fiddler's Green, Denver, Colorado 2003 Paulik, Laurie
92. The members of Audioslave built the band on foundation of harmony – 'We take care of each other' Varga, George
93. The members of Audioslave built the band on foundation of harmony – 'We take care of each other' Varga, George
94. Audioslave Unveil Soundgarden, Rage Against The Machine 'Covers' During Tour Opener
95. Audioslave: 'Be Yourself' Video Posted Online
96. It Takes A Million Audioslave Fans To Hear New Single
97. Audioslave Slay Havana With Historic Show
98. Audioslave's Havana Affair: John Norris Reports From Cuba
99. AOL Journal - BCP Periscope - Audioslave in Cuba Hastings, John
100. Audioslave rocks communist Cuba
101. AOL Journal - BCP Periscope - Audioslave in Cuba Hastings, John
102. AOL Journal - BCP Periscope - Audioslave in Cuba Hastings, John
103. Audioslave Slay Havana With Historic Show
104. Audioslave: 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' Exclusive Downloads Now Available
105. Audioslave Fans Riot At Free Show
106. Mariah Stops The Rock, Reclaims Billboard #1
107. Audioslave: 'Out Of Exile' Certified Platinum
108. Audioslave Singer Says New Album Will Be 'One Of The Best Rock Records Ever' Made
109. A Career in Slavery Sculley, Alan
110. Audioslave's Morello Says New LP Feels Less Like Soundgarden + Rage
111. A Career in Slavery Sculley, Alan
112. Q&A: Chris Cornell Scaggs, Austin
113. Music Review: Audioslave: Out Of Exile Shetler, Scott
114. Out of Exile Review Erlewine, Stephen Thomas
115. Album Reviews: Audioslave: Out Of Exile Fricke, David
116. Audioslave - Out Of Exile : album review Bansal, Vik
117. Audioslave - Out Of Exile : album review Bansal, Vik
118. Audioslave - Out Of Exile review Starbuck
119. Audioslave Heading Home For Studio Time, Fall Tour
120. Review of Audioslave @ Boston, MA bcd_71
121. News & Features - mvpa
122. Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Search Results - Live in Cuba
123. 48th Grammy Awards - 2006
124. Audioslave Frontman: 'We're Just Four Sweaty Guys Making Music'
125. Audioslave Heading Home For Studio Time, Fall Tour
126. New Audioslave LP: 'Led Zeppelin Meets Earth, Wind & Fire'
127. Audioslave's Record Label Explains European Tour Cancellation
128. 
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