Cons: Not as Groundbreaking as their work with Soundgarden & Rage.
The Bottom Line: Audioslave's debut is an excellent hard rock album made by Chris Cornell and the former members of Rage Against The Machine that just rocks.
If there were two hard rock bands that made an impact musically in the 1990s, they were Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine. Soundgarden were one of the leading bands in the early 90s grunge scene with Nirvana and Pearl Jam with their Sabbath-like intensity, rocking guitars and singer Chris Cornell’s mesmerizing vocals. Rage Against The Machine broke new ground with their blend of radical politics, hip-hop rhythms and rhymes courtesy of vocalist Zach De La Roca and the scratchy, noisy guitar work of Tom Morello. Both bands by the mid-1990s were the cutting edge of hard rock music and both bands were already having their legacy being set in stone to the hard rock world.
In 1997, Soundgarden announced to the world that they were calling it quits after twelve years of great music which disappointed many rock fans as Alternative music was dying while Rage Against The Machine was riding high on their 1996 sophomore effort “Evil Empire” while touring with the Wu-Tang Clan in late 1997 but problems were already emerging for the band. In 1999, Rage released their third album “The Battle of Los Angeles” as it was riding very high during the days of rap-metal, which they helped pioneer, while the political climate in the U.S. was becoming intense with upcoming election. Despite all the success Rage Against the Machine was having the tension between De La Roca and the band was at a high point, especially after bassist Tim Commerford caused an incident at the 2000 MTV Awards in which he got arrested in September of 2000. Later that fall, Zach De La Roca announced that he was leaving Rage Against The Machine for a solo career.
While the remaining members of Rage were in doubt about their solo career, Chris Cornell was having trouble starting his solo career when his 1999 solo debut “Euphoria Morning” got rave reviews but disappointing sales and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be part of a new band. Then in early 2001, rumors began to emerge about a jam session going on between Cornell and the former members of Rage as hard rock fans were wondering if they were going to form a new project and the rumors got bigger when it was announced that Cornell was indeed working with the members of Rage but not as Rage Against The Machine but as a new band. With names like Civilian and others being used at the time, Cornell and company began work on a new album.
With the growing buzz surrounding the new Cornell/Rage project slated for a 2002 release, the buzz got bigger when it was announced that the project would make their first appearance in the 2002 edition of the Ozzfest tour. It look liked things were going great but there was bumps lying ahead. Cornell briefly quit the project after some management squabbles going on between Cornell’s and the former members of Rage’s camp and demos of their songs were being leaked on the Internet without their consent. Other problems emerged was that since Cornell was working under his old A&M Records contract which was bought by Interscope and the former members of Rage were still under their contract with Epic, the labels began to fight over who would release the album first and in the end, both labels decided to release the album if it was going to be finished. Finally after Cornell returned to the project, it finally had a name as Audioslave as producer Rick Rubin helped shape the band’s sound and in November of 2002, their self-titled debut was ready for release.
It’s easy to think of bands like Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine when listening to Audioslave. Yes, there’s Cornell’s powerful, wailing vocals that made Soundgarden so great in classic songs like “Jesus Christ Pose” and “Spoonman” while the scratchy guitar work of Tom Morello is there with the pounding rhythm section of bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk is there as well that helped Rage become hard rock icons. The similarities between Rage and Soundgarden is relevant in Audioslave since both bands provide a bombastic sound like Led Zeppelin did in their reign in the 1970s and both Rage and Soundgarden were highly influenced by Zeppelin.
The difference between all of those projects is that Audioslave gets to explore musical styles from dreamy, rocking ballads which Cornell had on his solo album “Euphoria Morning” while Morello, Commerford, and Wilk do get a chance to show more of their musicality with melodic riffs, dreamy textures, loopy bass lines, and slower rhythms as opposed to the rocking, scratchy, rap-metal sound Rage had made that was great with the first two records but the formula was wearing thin when their third album “The Battle of Los Angeles” came out in 1999. For Morello, he gets a chance to play more arrays of guitar styles and riffs that he never used in Rage and for that, he shows a greater example of why he’s one of the best guitarist of the 1990s. Finally, like in all of the liner notes in Rage’s albums, Audioslave does contain the line saying that all sounds were made by guitars, bass, drums, and vocals with no tricks, samplers, or synthesizer like Queen used to do with early albums when they stated that no synthesizers were used in their records.
The music by Audioslave is filled with hard rock riffs and Zeppelin bombast while it features some dreamy textures in a few ballads without really going soft. While musically, it’s not exactly groundbreaking but for a band with talent like this, it’s one of the best hard rock albums to come out in a while (for those who haven’t heard the new Queens of the Stone Age album “Songs for the Deaf”). Lyrically, Cornell continues to explore his range of emotions that he had done with “Euphoria Morning” and he does return to the old-angst that Soundgarden had made famous while not going a little soft that might make some rock fans think he’s gone wimpy. While Rage in the past sings about politics, Cornell doesn’t go into political issues with Audioslave but the members still remain active about politics on a new website called Axis of Justice. Vocally, Cornell never sounded better as he provided some screams and wailing vocals that are so powerful, it’s hard to believe he’s still got it. Overall, Audioslave makes an excellent debut record, as it’s the beginning of a new future for Cornell, Morello, Commerford, and Wilk.
The album’s first single and opener is the bombastic power of “Cochise” that is led by Tom Morello’s stuttering guitar riffs and Brad Wilk’s tom-tom drum poundings as it is followed by Tim Commerford’s droning bass lines as Wilk hits thunderous fills with Morello’s scratchy guitars and the song goes into full Zeppelin-like bombast. Cornell then sings with an unadulterated that hasn’t been heard since his days with Soundgarden as he sings the chorus of “Go on save yourself/And take it out on me” as Morello belts out a droning guitar solo as Cornell screams the verse of “I’m not a martyr/I’m not a prophet/And I won’t preach to you/But here’s a caution/You better understand/That I won’t hold your hand/But if it helps you mend/Then I won’t stop it” as it leads to the chorus and a slow, descending bridge where he sings slowly until the last line of the bridge where he sings, “So you don’t feel a thing” as he screams the last word that is so powerful, you’re in awestruck of the range in his vocals as the song goes back into bombastic territories.
“Show Me How To Live” is a slower but visceral-driven track with powerful fills from Wilk as Morello belts out blazing power chords with Commerford’s droning bass lines as Cornell sings about the creation of life as the song goes into crashing power to the chorus of “Nail in my head/From my creator/You gave me life/Now show me how to live” as Cornell continues to sing his earthy lyrics of “You thought you made a man/You better think again/Before my role defines you” as it leads to the chorus and a stuttering guitar solo from Morello. “Gasoline” is a more mid-tempo track with thunderous rhythms and fills that is followed by Morello’s vibrato guitar riffs as Cornell sings his fiery lyrics that includes a rocking chorus line of “Burning that gasoline” as it follows the verse of “New day yawning another day of solitaire/House is honest/Clearly more than I bear/Drag me off/Before I set my world on fire/Out and gone the sun will never set tonight” as Cornell screams the chorus as Morello belts out distorted, droning guitar riffs for a solo that is filled the intense firepower.
“What You Are” is led by thumping fills of Wilk as Morello plays a soft but distorted guitar track to Cornell’s enchanting vocals as he sings the verse until he screams the chorus of “Cause now I’m free from what you want/Now I’m free from what you need/Now I’m free from what you are” as the song crashes with thunderous rhythms and raging power chords it returns to the smooth tone of the song as Cornell sings dark lyrics of “And when you wanted blood/I cut my veins/And when you wanted love/I bled myself again” as it later leads to the chorus and a squealing guitar solo from Morello. The second single is the heartfelt ballad of “Like A Stone” that is led by rhythmic fills from Wilk and loopy bass lines from Commerford while Morello belts out melodic-based guitar riffs as Cornell sings the song’s heartfelt lyrics that includes a lovely chorus of “In your house, I long to be/Room by room patiently/I’ll wait for you there/Like a stone, I’ll wait for you there, alone” as Morello belts out brief power chords as Cornell sings lyrics of death and regrets as it returns to the chorus where Morello brings in a squealing but smooth guitar solo that he had never played before, not even in Rage as the solo belts out a brief dose of feedback that is followed by an acoustic guitar track during the last verse of the song.
“Set It Off” is another bombast-driven track with filled with crashing beats and rhythms with visceral power chords that Led Zeppelin would love as Cornell sings the opening verse of “He was standing at the rock/Gathering the flock/And there with no directions/And underneath the arch/It turned into a march/And there he found the spark to set this f*cker off” as it leads to the chorus of “He said set it of, set if off now children/Set it right, set it off/Set it off now children, set a fire” as Cornell sings the track with spiritual references to Jesus, particularly the last verse where the song gets in a slower tone but returns to its bombast hard rock sound. “Shadow Of The Sun” is a more melodic-based song that opens with dreamy, melodic guitar riffs from Morello accompanying Cornell’s eerie vocals as he sings lyrics of loss and despair that includes a rocking chorus with raging guitars as Cornell sings, “I can tell you why/People die alone/I can tell you I’m a shadow on the sun” as it follows an eerie verse of “Staring at the loss/Looking for a cause/And never really sure/Nothing but a hole/To live without a sol/And nothing to be learned” as it leads to a second chorus with different words but sticking to the same subject as Morello follows it up with a stuttering and wailing guitar solo as Cornell continues to sing the melodic layers of the song with Commerford’s droning bass lines accompanying as the song goes into a coda of bombastic riffs and rhythms with Cornell screaming “Shadow on the sun” repeatedly.
“I Am The Highway” is another melodic-based ballad with soft tapping from Brad Wilk’s drums and melodic bass lines from Tim Commerford as Tom Morello plays a dreamy, sweeping guitar track as Chris Cornell sings inspirational lyrics that includes a sweeping chorus of “I am not your rolling wheels/I am the highway/I am not your carpet ride/I am the sky” as Cornell sings about driving his car in the endless road as he follows the chorus with a long verse of “I am not your blowing wind/I am the lightning/I am not your autumn moon/I am the night” as Morello plays a sweeping, acoustic-like accompaniment to his melodic guitar track. “Exploder” returns to the rock with this mid-tempo track led by Commerford’s loopy bass lines and Wilk’s pounding beats as Cornell sings this angst-ridden tune as he screams the chorus of “If you’re free, you’ll never see the walls/If your head is clear, you’ll never free fall/If you’re right, you’ll never fear the wrong/If your head is high, you’ll never fear at all” with Morello’s raging power chords accompanying the chorus that is followed by a solo the second the chorus is sung as Morello belts out wailing riffs.
“Hypnotize” is a fast, rhythmic-paced track with Madchester-like beat from Wilk who decides to play a fast-paced drum beat followed by Commerford’s melodic bass lines and Morello’s droning metal-funk riffs as Cornell sings his lyrics that includes the rhythmic chorus line of “Oh no, don’t you keep your good luck to yourself” as it is followed by the verse of “Well I know you got problems/I see it in your eyes/But if you want to live/To see the morning/Give it up to your brother/Or you’ll get a surprise” as it leads to the chorus and Morello plays a scratchy, funk-drenched guitar track as the band goes into strange places with this track. “Bring ‘Em Back Alive” opens with Commerford’s brooding bass lines as Morello plays a soft, melodic guitar riff as the song begins to build up momentum with thumping bass lines and drums until it crashes with Wilk’s beats and Morello’s power chords as Cornell sings bleak lyrics that is followed by a chorus line of “I am a virus, I live in silence” as he screams throughout the chorus that is followed by the verse of “I was on my way to a city in the clouds/When I lost my mind and I had to settle down/Then I had a dream of an island in the sea/Where the lepers die/Where no one survives/And no one can hear the cries” as Cornell screams throughout the chorus that is followed by a squealing guitar solo from Morello.
“Light My Way” opens with squealing riffs as it goes to a full rock bombast of thunderous rhythms and raging power chords before it slows down to a more mid-tempo rhythm led by Morello’s swanking guitar riffs as Cornell sings the song filled with spiritual lyrics that is later followed by the thunderous chorus line of “Won’t you light my way” as it follows the verse of “A bullet is a man/From time to time he strays/I compare my life to this/To this I relate/And I’m willing/To listen to your answers/And I’m not ashamed/To tell you I need you today” as Cornell sings the chorus and follows it with screams and Morello’s raging power chords. “Getaway Car” is another car-inspired song with more melodic riffs as Cornell sings the song with a slow rhythm and Morello’s melodic guitar riffs as he sings escapist lyrics that features a lovely chorus of “Well settle down I won’t hesitate/To hit the highway/Before you lay me to waste/Settle up and I’ll help you find/Something to drive/Before you drive me insane” as Morello plays dreamy riffs each delivered in its melodic tone as Cornell sings the song with his soulful vocals featuring sweeping vocal notes that is powerful as it is followed by Morello playing jazz-inspired guitar riffs that he wasn’t able to deliver in his days with Rage.
The album closer is “The Last Remaining Light” that is a slow song filled with melodic layers from Morello and hollow rhythms from Wilk as Cornell sings eerie lyrics in the opening verse of “Roll me on your frozen fields/Break my bones to watch them heal/Drown me in your thirsty veins/Where I’ll watch and I’ll wait/And pray for the rain” as Cornell goes into his dark lyrics that includes the chorus of “And if you don’t believe the sun will rise/Stand alone and greet the coming night/In the last remaining light” as Cornell screams the chorus during the second and final time with Morello belting out loud, melodic guitar drones followed by a smooth, jazz-inspired guitar solo as Cornell sings the chorus for the third and final time in this suitable closer to an excellent hard rock album.
While Audioslave’s self-titled debut is an excellent one, it’s easily not as good in comparison to the work of Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine but that doesn’t really matter. Audioslave proves to be a powerhouse when providing bombastic hard rock music to fans that love hard rock and even in their recent shows from last year and early this year, they proven themselves with fans and many bands that feel they’re a band that could compete with today’s hard rock contemporaries. With an upcoming slot in the Lollapalooza tour, Audioslave will prove their virility to rock fans as a new chapter for Cornell, Morello, Commerford, and Wilk begins. While it’s not a groundbreaking hard rock album, Audioslave’s debut release is an enjoyable one in its own right.
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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