Audioslave was an American hard rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001. It consisted of ex-Soundgarden frontman and rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell and the former instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine; Tom Morello (lead guitar), Tim Commerford (bass and backing vocals) and Brad Wilk (drums). Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden,[2] but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, noted that it had established a separate identity.
The band's trademark sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock with 1990s grunge. 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; no samples were ever used.
After Audioslave released three successful albums, received three Grammy nominations, sold more than eight million records worldwide,[3][4] and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba, Cornell issued a statement in February 2007 that he was permanently leaving the band "due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences". As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave was officially disbanded.History
Formation (2000–2001)
Audioslave's history dates back to October 18, 2000, when lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha announced he was leaving Rage Against the Machine. This led to the band's break-up, but the remaining three members of the band decided to stay together and announced plans to continue with a new vocalist. Several vocalists jammed with the three, including B-Real of Cypress Hill, but they did not want another rapper or anybody who sounded like de la Rocha. Music producer and friend, Rick Rubin later suggested that they jam with Chris Cornell, the ex-frontman of Soundgarden. Rubin also persuaded the three of them to go into group therapy with performance coach Phil Towle after the break-up. 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 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.
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, 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. The two bands worked out a settlement, with Audioslave paying $30,000 in a deal that allowed each band to use the name.
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 Media called it the "most asinine bandname of the year", while Spin magazine chided it as "one of the dumbest band names in recent rock history".
Audioslave (2002–2003)
On March 19, 2002 Audioslave was confirmed for the seventh annual Ozzfest, even though at that time the band had no official name or release date for their debut album. A few days later, reports surfaced that the band broke up, before they had played for a public audience. Cornell's manager confirmed that the frontman had left the band, with no explanation given.
Under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project"), 13 rough rehearsal demo tracks were leaked onto peer-to-peer filesharing networks in May 2002. According to Morello, the band was frustrated because the songs were not in their finished form and in some cases, "weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind".
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, settled their differences by agreeing to alternate who released the band's albums.
The band divulged their official name and launched their web site in early September. The first single, "Cochise", was posted online in late September, and was on 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 into the sounds that inspired them". Music video director Mark Romanek shot a video for "Cochise", which shows the band playing atop an under-construction tower 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 shooting location.
The self-titled debut album, Audioslave, was released on November 19, 2002 and entered the Billboard 200 chart at number seven after selling 162,000 copies in its first week. It was certified gold by the RIAA 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 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 and Black Sabbath, 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. 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, where the band played on the first night, December 7, 2002, after giving a secret club show the night before. Towards 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 band mates hugging him. 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.
During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with Metal Hammer that was conducted from a clinic payphone. In a San Diego CityBEAT 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, but when asked, only offered, "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's Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA, making it Audioslave's most successful single ever. The music video for the third single, "Show Me How to Live", was banned from MTV, 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.
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 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 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 [already done]". "Be Yourself", the first single from the still-untitled album, was heavily panned by 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 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 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.
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