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Audioslave was an American rock supergroup formed in
Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...
, in 2001. The four-piece band consisted of Soundgarden's lead singer and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell with
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
members
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
(lead guitar), Tim Commerford (bass/backing vocals), and
Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019 ...
(drums). Critics first described Audioslave as a combination of Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine, but by the band's second album, '' Out of Exile'', it was noted that they had established a separate identity. Their unique sound was created by blending 1970s
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...
and 1990s
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
, with musical influences that included 1960s
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...
,
soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...
and R&B. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitars, bass, drums, and vocals, with emphasis on Cornell's wide
vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...
and Morello's unconventional
guitar solo A guitar solo is a melodic passage, instrumental section, or entire piece of music, pre-written (or improvised) to be played on a classical guitar, electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. In 20th and 21st century traditional music and popular ...
s. In their six years together, Audioslave released three albums, received three
Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nominations, sold more than eight million records worldwide and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba. They disbanded in February 2007 after Cornell issued a statement announcing that he was leaving the band. Later that year, Cornell and Morello released solo albums, and Morello, Commerford, and Wilk reunited with Zack de la Rocha for the Rage Against the Machine Reunion Tour. Audioslave reunited to perform at Prophets of Rage's Anti-Inaugural Ball, which took place on January 20, 2017. Cornell's death later that year precluded any chance of further reunions.


History


Formation (2000–2001)

Audioslave's history dates back to October 18, 2000, when
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...
broke up after lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha announced he was leaving the band, citing a breakdown in the band's "decision-making process". The remaining three members of the band— Tim Commerford,
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
, and
Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019 ...
—decided to stay together and announced plans to search for and continue with a new vocalist. Several vocalists jammed with the three, including
B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...
of
Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...
, but they did not want another rapper or anybody who sounded like de la Rocha. Contrary to popular belief,
Layne Staley Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American musician, songwriter and the original lead singer of the rock band Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part ...
of
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
never auditioned for the new project; this rumor was debunked by Morello on his
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account in 2015. Music producer and friend
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is the co-founder (alongside Russell Simmons) of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popula ...
suggested that they play with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Rubin also persuaded the three of them to go into
group therapy Group psychotherapy or group therapy is a form of psychotherapy in which one or more therapists treat a small group of clients together as a group. The term can legitimately refer to any form of psychotherapy when delivered in a group format, i ...
with performance coach Phil Towle after the breakup. Rubin was confident that with the right new voice, Rage Against the Machine had the potential to become a better band; he believed "it could turn into a Yardbirds-into-
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...
scenario." 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." The chemistry between Cornell and the other three was 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." The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal, and began working in the studio in late May 2001 with Rubin as producer, while sorting out the label and management issues.


''Audioslave'' (2002–2003)

On March 19, 2002, Audioslave was confirmed for the seventh annual Ozzfest; despite, at that time, having neither an official name nor a release date for their debut album. A few days later, reports surfaced that the band had broken up before they had played for a public audience. Cornell's manager confirmed that the frontman had left the band, with no explanation given. 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). According to the band, however, the split was not triggered by personal conflicts, but by their quarreling managers. After the mixing of the album was finished, roughly six weeks later, the group reformed and simultaneously fired their former management companies and hired another, The Firm. Their previous labels, Epic and
Interscope Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
, settled their differences by agreeing to alternate who released the band's albums. Meanwhile, 13 rough mixes of songs the band had created months previously were leaked to
peer-to-peer Peer-to-peer (P2P) computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads between peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the network. They are said to form a peer-to-peer ...
filesharing networks in May 2002, under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project"). According to Morello, the songs were unfinished and, in some cases, "weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind." To
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, he described them as "inferior sketches of works-in-progress, sent to Seattle for Chris to work on. Someone at that studio helped themselves to a copy and, after eight months, it made its way to an Italian website. Then it went global and everyone thought they had the record, which was so frustrating." The band divulged their official name and launched their website in early September. The first single, " Cochise", was posted online in late September, and was on the radio in early October. Critics praised Cornell's vocal style, a distinct departure from the rapping of de la Rocha, and found that "the former members of RAtM have gone and done a Paul Weller, retreating from the ground they broke back othe sounds that inspired them." Director
Mark Romanek Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...
shot a
music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...
for "Cochise", which shows the band playing atop a tower under construction in the midst of a giant fireworks display providing all the lighting. The firework explosions during filming prompted fears of a terrorist attack among residents living near Los Angeles'
Sepulveda Dam The Sepulveda Dam is a project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed to withhold winter flood waters along the Los Angeles River. Completed in 1941, at a cost of $6,650,561 (), it is located south of center in the San Fernando Valley, appro ...
, the shooting location. The self-titled debut album, '' Audioslave'', was released on November 19, 2002, and entered the ''Billboard'' 200 chart at No. 7 after selling 162,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold by the
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...
within a month of release, and by 2006 achieved triple platinum status. It is the most successful Audioslave album to date, having sold more than three million copies in the United States alone. Despite its commercial success, ''Audioslave'' received mixed reviews. Some critics lambasted the group's effort as uninspired, and predictable.
Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
praised Cornell's voice, but criticized virtually every other aspect of the album, deeming the lyrics "complete gibberish" and Rubin's production "a synthesized rock-like product that emits no heat." Other critics, however, praised the supergroup's style reminiscent of 1970s rock and compared it to
Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ...
and
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...
, saying they added much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream rock. 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 The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production ...
''. This was the first time any band had appeared on Letterman's marquee. That year's KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas was their first official paying concert, in which the band played on the first night, December 7, after giving a secret club show the night before. Toward the end of the band's six-song set, Cornell told the audience, "These guys saved my life this year", and the show ended with his bandmates hugging him. Afterwards, asked to expand on his comments, he would say only that he had dragged the trio "through a trail of shit" in the past months. During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into
drug rehabilitation Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent i ...
. He later confirmed it in an interview with ''
Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' that was conducted from a clinic payphone. In a
San Diego CityBEAT ''San Diego CityBeat'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in San Diego, California that focused on local progressive politics, arts, and music. It was published every Wednesday and distributed around San Diego county, although with a focus on the ...
article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife. He credited Morello, Commerford and Wilk with helping him rebound from the difficult period. He dismissed the rumors about being in rehab for OxyContin or
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and bro ...
, but when asked, offered only, "Various things. I'm not picky. Mainly for drinking." " Like a Stone", the second single from ''Audioslave,'' was released in early 2003. It was the highest-charting single from the album, peaking at number one on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...
''s
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...
and
Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA, making it Audioslave's most successful single. The music video for "Like a Stone" was written and directed by
Meiert Avis Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Flyleaf, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Grob ...
. It was shot in the Los Angeles house where
Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
wrote "
Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...
". The video uses negative space to invoke the memory of musicians past. The music video for the third single, " Show Me How to Live", was banned from
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, reportedly because it shows the band in a high-speed car chase running police cars and motorcycles off the road. The band's first DVD, '' Audioslave'', was released on July 29, 2003. The band toured extensively worldwide in 2003, gaining positive reviews for their live performances, including at the revived
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
. Their performance on the Lollapalooza tour was so well received by readers of '' Metal Edge'' that they won the magazine's 2003 Readers' Choice Award for "Favorite Lollapalooza Band" by a landslide.


''Out of Exile'' (2004–2005)

In 2004, Audioslave was among the nominees for the
46th Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002 through September 30, 2003. They recognized ...
: "Like a Stone" was nominated for " Best Hard Rock Performance" and ''Audioslave'' for " Best Rock Album". They spent the rest of 2004 on break from touring and working on the second album. This gave Morello time to concentrate on his solo project, The Nightwatchman, and also to take an active part in political activities. Cornell had time to focus on his personal life; after his divorce from his first wife was finalized, he married Vicky Karayiannis, a Paris-based publicist he met during Audioslave's first European tour. Work on a new album had started in 2003 during the Lollapalooza tour, 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; according to Morello, they had "almost another album's worth of stuff lready done" " Be Yourself", the first single from the still-untitled album, was panned by some critics, who felt it was "limp, and the lyrics are bland and directionless." Nevertheless, it reached number one on the Mainstream and Modern Rock charts. In April 2005, the band launched a club tour, which lasted until late May. Although on previous tours Audioslave occasionally played cover songs, they deliberately avoided playing their former bands' songs to avoid using those songs as a "crutch" to "help sell and break Audioslave" as their aim was to establish the band as an "independent entity". After achieving that goal, they thought it was "time to own those histories," and began performing a selection of the two bands' most popular songs (such as " Black Hole Sun" and "
Bulls on Parade "Bulls on Parade" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It is the second song from their second studio album, '' Evil Empire'' (1996). It was released as the album's first single to modern rock radio on February 9, 1996. B ...
") on the tour. The second single, " Your Time Has Come" was released through a unique promotion, lasting one week, which involved radio listeners around the world. Radio stations were asked to post a link on their websites 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. On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, Cuba, in front of an estimated 50,000 people at the La Tribuna Antiimperialista José Martí ( José Martí Anti-Imperialist Stand) venue, which was purpose-built in 2000 for mass protests against the U.S. government. Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform an open-air concert in the
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
republic of Cuba. The band traveled to Havana—bringing along their camera crew—on May 4 to spend two days visiting historic sites and interacting with Cuban musicians and youngsters. 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." The trip was organized with the joint authorization of the
United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
and the Instituto Cubano de la Musica (Cuban Institute of Music), as travel by U.S. citizens to Cuba is restricted, but the authorization arrived so late that the band had to cancel and postpone several confirmed dates of their U.S. tour. The 26-song-set concert—which included several Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine songs—was the longest the band had ever played. '' Out of Exile'' was released internationally on May 23, 2005, then a day later in the U.S. It debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, the only Audioslave album to reach this position. The following week, however, it dropped to number three, with a 62-percent sales decrease—consequently reaching platinum. Cornell admitted to writing some of his most personal songs on the album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002. He described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs. The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking, and pointed out that ''Out of Exile'' is "the sound of a band coming into its own."
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
, which gave ''Audioslave'' a lukewarm review, praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable." The lyrics, however, were still a common complaint. MusicOMH.com wrote that Cornell's lyrics "continue to border on the ridiculous"; the album's softer, slower approach was frequently criticized as well. Following the album's release, the band embarked on a European tour, performed at the Live 8 benefit concert in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
on July 2, 2005, and played their first North American headlining arena tour from late September to November 2005. The music video for "
Doesn't Remind Me "Doesn't Remind Me" is a song by the American rock supergroup Audioslave, released in July 2005 as the third single from their second studio album ''Out of Exile''. The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance at the ...
", the third single from ''Out of Exile,'' was posted online in September 2005. Audioslave's second DVD, '' Live in Cuba'', featuring the concert in Havana, was released on October 11, 2005. It was certified platinum in less than two months.


''Revelations'' and breakup (2006–2007)

In December 2005, Audioslave received its third Grammy nomination at the
48th Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 w ...
in the Best Hard Rock Performance category for "Doesn't Remind Me". Audioslave began recording their next album; Cornell had already expressed his desire to make "an album every year or year-and-a-half" even before ''Out of Exile'' was released. In early July 2005, after the conclusion of the European tour, the band returned to the studio to write new songs; Morello said their aim was to "blur the lines between rehearsing, recording and touring." The actual recording began in January 2006, with plans to release the album, '' Revelations'', in June. This time, the band chose ''Out of Exiles mixer, Brendan O'Brien, as producer. Audioslave had 20 songs written and recorded, 16 of those in only three weeks. The album's release date, however, was postponed to early September, and the band cancelled their previously announced European tour, to have a new album to support, when they embarked on touring. The first single off the album, "
Original Fire "Original Fire" is a song by American hard rock band Audioslave. It was released in July 2006 as the first single from the album '' Revelations''. Over a year and a half after release, the song rose back into the UK Rock Chart, at number 11, an ...
", was made available online on Audioslave's official website for free streaming in early July. News about Cornell's departure emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album was released, he would depart the band and restart his solo career. Cornell immediately denied the rumors, stating "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. ... I always just ignore hem" In the same interview, he also discussed his intentions to record a new solo album, the second in seven years, before the end of August. A special marketing campaign preceded the new album's release in August, when the art concept was featured on
Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...
as a fictional utopian island, Audioslave Nation, created in the
South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Several songs from the upcoming album appeared on movie and video game soundtracks; "Wide Awake" and "Shape of Things to Come" were featured in ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'', while "Revelations" was on the soundtrack of ''
Madden NFL 07 ''Madden NFL 07'' is an American football video game based on the NFL that was published by EA Sports and developed by EA Tiburon. It is the first in the video game series to debut for the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles as launch titles and the ...
''. '' Revelations'' was released on September 5, 2006. The album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 and sold 142,000 copies during its first week of release. It became the band's least commercially successful album; dropping even faster than ''Out of Exile'', its sales were down 65 percent the following week, achieving gold certification a month later. 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". Additionally, several songs took a more overtly 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. The new funk and soul influences were also welcomed favorably; Allmusic called the album Audioslave's "most colorful, diverse, and consistent record yet." Many others, however, saw it as "just another rock record", and musically not much different from the previous album. Cornell decided to delay the Revelations tour until 2007, because he wanted to "let the album come out " and also concentrate on his second solo album. The rest of the band went along; Morello also revealed his plans to release his debut solo album in early 2007. 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, at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
, on April 29. Less than a month later, on February 15, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, issuing this statement:
Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors.
He stated that, as far as he was concerned, Audioslave had disbanded, and that a greatest hits collection would be issued in the future, because of label commitments.


Post-breakup (2008–2016)

Morello and Cornell initially disagreed over the particulars of Cornell quitting the group, with Morello claiming that Cornell did not communicate directly with him about leaving, while 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." He also added that this process of "doing Audioslave business" led him to go solo. Contrary to some reports, Cornell has stated that the breakup was not about money, but that he was just not getting along with the other members during their later years. Said Cornell, "Getting along as people is one thing. Getting along as a group of people that can work together in a band situation...We weren't particularly getting along well, no. Bands work in a way where everyone at some point has to have a similar idea of how you do things...Three albums into it, it started to seem like our interests weren't as conjoined anymore." In 2011, Cornell revealed further information about the band's breakup; "Personally a lot of it was me trying to land on my feet again. I went through a lot of personal turmoil right around the time Audioslave formed and unfortunately I think that affected the band a little bit in terms of me not really being grounded...I think there was stuff that could have been resolved, and there was drama that was probably unnecessary, typical rock band stuff. I certainly played a role in it. I definitely feel like I was part of a lot of unnecessary stuff. It didn't need to become what it became. You learn with experience." In 2012, Morello said that unreleased material that was not on the three albums could be released in the future at an unspecified point. Cornell and Morello shared the stage together for the first time in seven years, among many musicians, at the 2013
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...
concert. Cornell also joined Morello on stage on September 26, 2014, guesting on his solo Seattle show. They played together several Nightwatchman songs, Cornell's usual acoustic covers, and for the first time in eight years, some Audioslave songs. In August 2015, Cornell openly said in interview with '' Total Guitar'' that he was quite eager to reunite with Audioslave: "I think it would be great. We did a lot of songs, and with the benefit of not having done anything with those guys for so long, I can't imagine what it would be. It would be a really amazing experience just to get back and work with the same guys again." Soon after, Morello said that he's interested in working with Cornell again, remembering their 2014 Seattle performance with great fondness: "I love Chris and consider him a great friend. The Hall of Fame jam was nice, but a little chaotic. Playing with him in Seattle, that was just fantastic. I love that guy. He's one of the most talented vocalists in the history of vocalists. And to be able to play the songs that we wrote together, it was awesome and so much fun. I hope we do something like that again."


Reunion and death of Chris Cornell (2017)

On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Audioslave would reunite for their first show in 12 years at Prophets of Rage's Anti-Inaugural Ball, protesting President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's
inauguration In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaugu ...
. The event took place on January 20, 2017. Asked in February 2017 if there would be more Audioslave reunion shows in the future, Cornell replied, "It's always a possibility. I mean, we've been talking about it for at least three or four years now. We were talking about actually picking dates, and it just ended up not working out because everybody's so busy. They have another band again, they all have separate bands that they do themselves, I have Soundgarden and a solo career that's taking up a lot of time, and I just did Temple of the Dog. So, it's really honestly as simple as we end up having a window of time where it's comfortable for everybody and we want to do it, because I definitely feel like everybody's up for it." However, on May 18, 2017, three months after making that statement, Cornell was found deceased in his
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
hotel room, ending the possibility of any future Audioslave reunions with their original lead vocalist.


Name

The original idea for the band's name was "Civilian", but it was dropped when members found out that it was already taken. Morello later discredited the story, contradicting Commerford and Cornell, and commented that "Civilian" was merely a rumor circulating at the time. He stated: "The band has only ever had one name, and that is Audioslave." Morello described the origin of the "Audioslave" name to LAUNCHcast as follows:
That was Chris' suggestion that sort of came to him in a vision. We're all on the two-way pagers, and Chris one night said, "I got it. It's Audioslave." We were all, like, "All right, fantastic." ... To paraphrase
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in 2020, and has twice been nom ...
, talking about band names is like dancing about architecture—there's just no point in it because the band name becomes the music and the people.
After the name was announced, it emerged that it was already being used by an unsigned band from
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
. The two bands worked out a settlement, with the American Audioslave paying $30,000 in a deal that allowed each band to use the name. To avoid confusion, the Liverpool band would rename themselves "The Most Terrifying Thing". The name was mocked by critics due to its uninspired nature, and was regarded as one of the worst in contemporary rock music, or even of all time. '' Pitchfork'' called it the "most asinine bandname of the year," and Chuck Klosterman of ''
Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...
'' magazine chided it as "one of the dumbest band names in recent rock history."


Musical style and influences

Audioslave's musical style has generally been regarded as
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest ha ...
,
alternative metal Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. Alternative metal bands are often characterized by ...
,
post-grunge Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush, Candlebox and Collective Soul that emulated the ...
, and
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...
. By combining 1970s style hard rock riffing with alternative rock, Audioslave created a distinctive sound. This mix was driven by Cornell's wide vocal range, Morello's innovative guitar solos and the robust rhythm section of Wilk and Commerford. 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". This meant that the instrumentalists had the opportunity to write slow and melodic songs, something they had not done before. As opposed to de la Rocha's lyrics, Cornell's were mostly apolitical; Morello referred to them as "haunted, existential poetry". They were characterised by his cryptic approach, often dealing with themes of
existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning, purpose, and val ...
,
love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...
,
hedonism Hedonism refers to a family of theories, all of which have in common that pleasure plays a central role in them. ''Psychological'' or ''motivational hedonism'' claims that human behavior is determined by desires to increase pleasure and to decr ...
,
spirituality The meaning of ''spirituality'' has developed and expanded over time, and various meanings can be found alongside each other. Traditionally, spirituality referred to a religious process of re-formation which "aims to recover the original shape ...
and
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
. Audioslave's first two albums drew influences from 1970s hard rock and heavy metal such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and from the members' previous bands (the
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of ...
sound of Soundgarden and the
funk metal Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...
sound of Rage Against the Machine). For ''Revelations'', which was influenced by 1960s and 1970s funk, soul and R&B music, Morello used vintage guitars and amplifiers and Cornell adopted his "seventies funk and R&B-flavor vocals". The guitarist also cited Sly & the Family Stone,
James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...
and
Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...
as a reason for the funk overtones on the album. Just as Rage Against the Machine did, Audioslave also included the statement "All sounds made by guitar, bass, drums and vocals" in their albums' booklets as Morello's guitar work often caused listeners to believe that the band used samples, synthesiser effects or different turntable techniques to produce certain sounds.


Songwriting and recording process

All of Audioslave's lyrics were written by Cornell, while all four members—as a band—were credited with writing the music. Their songwriting process was described by Wilk as "more collaborative" and "satisfying" than Rage Against the Machine's, which was "a battle creatively". Cornell also felt the same way; he saw Soundgarden's songwriting method inferior to Audioslave's. Rick Rubin, producer of the band's first two albums, was also lauded as "a great collaborative partner" and was likened to "the fifth Beatle" by Tom Morello. The time spent on songwriting by the band was always short. They wrote 21 songs in 19 days for the first album and exceeded that rate for the second album by having a song or sometimes two written every day. This method was adopted for the third album as well. Cornell's battle with drug addiction and alcoholism was a defining factor in the writing and recording process of the debut album. The singer admitted that he was "never able to write effectively" while drinking, and attended rehab after recording ''Audioslave''. Although Morello stated that ''Revelations'' was "the first record ornelldidn't smoke, drink or take drugs through the recording," he later clarified his statement by saying: "Chris was stone sober during the making of our ''Out of Exile'' album. Chris was also sober during the making of ''Revelations'' and prior to recording he gave up smoking as well."


Politics

In contrast to Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave's music was mostly apolitical. Cornell stated he did not want to become the new singer of Rage Against the Machine or any political band, but he would play benefits the other band members wanted to play. Despite his reluctance to write political lyrics, he himself never discounted the possibility; he already touched upon political issues in ''Audioslaves "Set It Off"—a song inspired by 1999's WTO riots (the " Battle of Seattle")—then later wrote an anti-war song, "Sound of a Gun", and what Morello called "the most political song Audioslave's ever written," "Wide Awake" for ''Revelations.'' "Wide Awake" was an attack on the Bush administration's perceived failures over the consequences of
Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
. The band was openly anti- Bush and against the 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. The music video for "Doesn't Remind Me" was also critical of the Iraq war. Wilk called Bush "a fucking scam" in an interview, criticizing the Bush administration's rationale for war in Iraq. During the time of the second album's release, several politically charged Rage Against the Machine songs resurfaced in Audioslave's live set. Although the members committed to not making political statements during their Cuba tour, Commerford stated in an interview that the concert made Audioslave more politically active than Rage Against the Machine ever was. 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. This culminated in the political influences on ''Revelations'', although he did not write about Cuba specifically. He asserted that he felt Audioslave can be a band like U2, which is "not overtly political, but
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...
gets a lot done." That year, the band played at two more concerts organized to raise political awareness: Live 8, which aimed to end global poverty, and the Hurricane Katrina benefit concert, ReAct Now: Music & Relief. Audioslave was prominently involved in the Axis of Justice, a non-profit organization formed by Tom Morello and System of a Down's Serj Tankian to "bring together musicians, fans of music, and
grassroots A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
political organizations to fight for
social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals ...
." Axis of Justice tents were set up at almost every Audioslave show, and with the exception of Commerford all band members appeared on the ''
Concert Series Volume 1 ''Axis of Justice: Concert Series Volume 1'' is a live CD/DVD by various artists in support of the Axis of Justice organization. Track listing Audio: (Excerpts from The Axis Of Justice radio network) *Interview with Michael Moore *Interview ...
'' CD/DVD charity album released in 2004.


Band members

* Chris Cornell – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (2001–2007; 2017, died 2017) *
Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...
– lead guitar (2001–2007; 2017) * Tim Commerford – bass, backing vocals (2001–2007; 2017) *
Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019 ...
– drums (2001–2007; 2017)


Discography

Studio albums *'' Audioslave'' (2002) *'' Out of Exile'' (2005) *'' Revelations'' (2006)


References


External links


Audioslave
on
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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Audioslave Alternative metal supergroups American post-grunge musical groups Alternative rock groups from California Epic Records artists Musical quartets Rock music supergroups Hard rock musical groups from California Interscope Records artists Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 2001 Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Musical groups reestablished in 2017 Musical groups disestablished in 2017