Audioslave was an American
hard rock supergroup who formed in
Los Angeles, California in 2001. It consisted of then-former
Soundgarden frontman, rhythm guitarist, and lead singer
Chris Cornell and the then-former instrumentalists of
Rage Against the Machine:
Tom Morello (
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,
but by the band's second album,
Out of Exile, it was noted that they had established a separate identity.
The band's trademark sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock with 1990s alternative rock. 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.
After Audioslave released three successful albums, received three Grammy nominations, and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in
Cuba, Cornell issued a statement in February 2007 announcing 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.
Musical style and influences
By combining '70s 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 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,
love,
hedonism,
spirituality and
Christianity.
Audioslave's first two albums drew influences from 1970s hard rock such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath and from the members' previous bands (the
alternative metal of Soundgarden and the
funk metal of Rage Against the Machine).
For
Revelations, which was influenced by 1960s and '70s 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 and
Funkadelic 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 [Cornell] didn'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."
