In the music industry, surviving a change of lead vocalists and keeping your popularity is perhaps the hardest thing a rock band can accomplish. Let us not forget that fans of Van Halen were willing to deal with Sammy Hagar after Diamond Dave left, but told Eddie and the boys that Gary Cherone was definitely not welcome when he replaced Hagar.
Other bands have tried going with new lead singers as well. 3/4 of Stone Temple Pilots got together with a new singer in the mid 90s, at the height of Scott Weiland's drug problems, called themselves Talk Show, and ended up getting booted off as Aerosmith's opening act for not playing STP songs. Talk Show, to this day, is considered one of the biggest musical failures given the hype surrounding the project.
Late last year, news broke that Chris Cornell, the lead singer of the seminal Seattle band Soundgarden, and the three remaining members of Rage Against the Machine, had gotten together and were jamming on a new project. This news jolted the rock music world. Cornell laid down just two ground rules: no rapping, no political lyrics.
The project was thought to be lost when, just two days after being announced as a part of the 2002 Ozzfest, the band broke up, evidently over management squabbles. Soon though, the project was back on, this album was finished, and the band is said to be almost done with a second disc of material. After dropping their original name of Civilian due to legal issues, they settled on the moniker of Audioslave, which has to be one of the worst names in rock.
After listening to the album a few times, I've come to the conclusion that the first single, Cochise, is both deceptive and, ultimately, boring. It's deceptive in that it is by far the song that most sounds like old Rage Against the Machine, the main difference, obviously, being vocally. It literally sounds as if the band used a Soundgarden vocal dub over the music. Ultimately, this is probably what your basic rock music meathead fan would want: the repetitiveness that plagued Rage together with the badass voice of Cornell. Luckily, when the band begins to sound a bit too much like the Rage of years past, they change things up, and there are a TON of tempo curveballs throughout the record.
Sorry to disappoint, but guitarist Tom Morello has finally figured out that less IS more in most cases. He has a firm case of RESTRAINT on this record. That's not to say he doesn't rock out, but I find this to be his most accomplished playing to date. Let's face it, all the weird guitar effects were cool for about an album and a half, but after that you wanted to smack him.
My favorite song on the record is by far Gasoline, a song that not only showcases Morello's newfound appreciation for true experimentation with his instrument, but a song that also showcases Cornell's impressive range. In addition, I find that Tim Commerford (bass) and Brad Wilk (drums) are as in sync with each other on this song (and this album) as a band could possibly hope. Gasoline has an intensity that few rock songs of the last 3 or 4 years have come close to matching.
I find that a lot of the songs have a common thread with regards to their structures. With Rage, they had a horrible habit of letting the explosion come far too soon. They had no clue how to build up tension or how to release it (or when for that matter). With Soundgarden, they often would drive you nuts in their latter years by not letting the explosion happen at all. However, that problem is averted here, at least for the most part. Songs such as Like a Stone exhibit how the respective members of Audioslave have learned from their prior bands' mistakes.
The other songs show a strong willingness to further diversify the band's sound. I Am the Highway sounds almost downright countryish, and it's here where Cornell's voice truly shines. Shadow of the Sun will remind you of latter era Soundgarden, especially with it's dark guitar tones. Exploder is extremely frenetic, and the final two songs, Getaway Car and The Last Remaining Light, are extremely tripped out ballad type numbers, both of which show that this band has a spark of creativity that far exceeds that of Rage Against the Machine, and comes close to equaling Soundgarden.
Ultimately, Audioslave's first album is a good album. It is NOT the masterpiece that so many people expected, but then again, such very little in music is a masterpiece. But in a world of Creeds, Nickelbacks and 3 Doors Downs, we maybe should focus on what Audioslave IS, rather than what it is NOT. It IS a solid rock album that shows musical growth for the former members of Rage, and a welcome return to the rock for Cornell. Zach de la Rocha, we hardly knew ye.
In the spirit of the supergroups of the past, two of the most important bands of the nineties have pooled their talents to create a new band: Audiosla...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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