November 18, 2002 - Audioslave and Audioslave

Six days after my last release a new band joins my library when Audioslave released their debut album "Audioslave" on November 18, 2002. But who is Audioslave? They are a four-piece hard/alternative rock band that is mostly the remnants of Rage Against the Machine! Zack de la Rocha left Rage, so Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Tom Morello started looking for a new vocalist. Legendary producer Rick Rubin was the one to suggest Chris Cornell, and the former Soundgarden frontman joins them and Audioslave was born! That's a pretty wicked combination of musicians and i'm very excited to hear what Audioslave can do! Let's dive in!

The album kicks off with it's lead single "Cochise" and they start off slow, but once they slam into the main riff things sound very loud and pretty damn catchy! Commerford plays a great bass riff and Morello syncs up with him for a wonderful main riff, and Cornell still sounds like his usual awesome self with a great verse and a catchy chorus. Cornell holds a reeaaalllyy long note right before the final chorus and he sounds spectacular, as does the final rockin' chorus. A pretty cool intro to Audioslave! Up next is another single titled "Show Me How To Live" and Wilk keeps the pace with a catchy drum beat while Morello and Commerford sync up once again for a groovy and cool main riff. Cornell sings a smooth verse that rolls overtop the music perfectly and he matches the music again in the chorus as everyone gets louder and things sound pretty solid. After another round Morello delivers one of his trademark crazy solos and words as usual fail to accurately describe all the cool noises he somehow makes on guitar. They ramp nicely back up to the chorus and it's so nice to hear all these guys making music again! It's definitely a different vibe with Cornell as opposed to de la Rocha, but they're all just so talented! Track 3 is "Gasoline" and once again Commerford lays the groundwork with a cool bass line and then Morello syncs up with him for another loud and catchy chorus riff. Morello changes to some cool trippy guitar for the verse as Cornell sings another smooth verse and they slam nicely into the loud chorus riff. After another nice round Morello delivers another unique and interesting solo, then he nicely makes his way smoothly back to the chorus riff to finish things off. The next track was yet another single called "What You Are" and Morello starts us off with a very basic light guitar riff and Cornell sings a soft verse to match this unusually quiet riff. The chorus is loud and more typical and Cornell yells a nice chorus overtop the catchy guitars and bass. Another round later and Morello goes into crazy solo mode and plays a really cool and totally unique solo that is definitely the highlight. They predictably jam out the ending and aside from the lighter verse this was another pretty cool tune. Track 5 is easily their biggest single off the album and it's called "Like A Stone". Wilk cues up another catchy drum beat, Morello plays a slow but super epic guitar riff and Commerford keeps the pace with some solid bass as well. Cornell completes things with a perfectly executed verse that beautifully matches the mood and things roll perfectly into the super catchy chorus as Cornell holds lots of nice long notes and Morello plays some more epic guitar. Things are so unbelievably smooth it's no wonder this was such a popular song! Morello delivers a fittingly epic guitar solo that is pretty slow, but it just sounds so cool! Then we go acoustic out of nowhere as Cornell leads a nice new verse that somehow leads perfectly back into the chorus. A very cool single indeed! Up next is "Set It Off" and Morello makes some more interesting noises with his guitar in this cool opening before Commerford comes slamming in with a loud and groovy bass line to keep the pace of this loud new riff. Wilk adds another catchy drum beat and Morello completes things with some catchy and cool guitar as well. Cornell sounds pretty great overtop in both the verse and chorus and it's bear impossible not to bang your head along to this one! I'm surprised this one wasn't a single as I find it very smooth and accessible, while still being plenty hard rock! Track 7 is "Shadow On The Sun" and Morello leads the way with a quiet but cool guitar riff and Cornell holds some long grunge-y notes overtop as he continues to sound pretty sweet. The rhythm section eventually joins in to nicely round out this slow but epic main riff and the chorus is louder but still fairly slow as Cornell holds some more nice long notes. After another slow and solid round it's crazy Morello solo time as he delivers a short but always interesting little solo before they collapse nicely back to the main riff. They close out the song with a groovy breakdown and Cornell sounds phenomenal belting out the name of the song. Great finish! The next track is the fifth and final single, "I Am The Highway", and it's got a very light and breezy main riff with a catchy drum beat by Wilk and some smooth guitar by Morello while Cornell sings a fittingly breezy verse. Things roll into a slightly louder but similar chorus and I can see why this was chosen as a single, it's very accessible, but it's pretty bland by Audioslave's high standards so far. The guitar solo is easily the fluffiest I've ever heard Morello play! It's still a good song, but a lesser one for sure. Track 9 is called "Exploder" and Commerford plays a great bassline to keep the pace in the quieter verse, then they slam wonderfully into a loud and epic chorus with great contributions from everyone! Cornell sounds so fucking good this whole song and Morello's guitar in the chorus is pretty sweet as well. Everything sounds super good after the next round as Commerford plays some fantastic distorted bass, Morello plays some unique and crazy guitar and Cornell does this really great scat part and it all combines phenomenally! This is probably my favourite song on the album, so good the whole way through, and another nice heavy ending! Up next is "Hypnotize" and Morello starts us off with some droning guitar, Commerford plays some cool bass and Wilk plays a fast and catchy drum beat as Cornell sings a nice low verse overtop. The chorus is super groovy and catchy and this is not their usual vibe but I dig this funky jam and Cornell's low singing. Morello's solo is fantastic and indescribable as always and this is a really cool jam! Track 11 is "Bring 'Em Back Alive" and Morello plays a light but cool guitar riff to start us off, then they slam nicely into a loud chorus riff with some nice groovy bass by Commerford. Morello plays some cool stop-and-start guitar in the catchy verse and Cornell sings in a slightly distorted voice overtop. He holds some nice long notes in the loud chorus and things are slow but very groovy. Another round later and it's time for another trademark Morello solo and this one sounds very epic and awesome, words fall short yet again! Just another pretty sweet tune! The next track is "Light My Way" and after a piercingly high intro by Morello they move into a typically loud and cool chorus riff with some catchy guitars and bass. The verse is pretty famn smooth and cool with some nice distorted guitar by Morello, some super groovy and sweet bass by Commerford and a catchy drum beat by Wilk, all with some slow, smooth singing by Cornell. Cornell gets louder with the chorus, holding some long notes that sound great! It's an indescribably catchy and cool main riff and after a couple great rounds Cornell leads a quiet new verse that nicely sets the stage for a slow heavy breakdown that leads perfectly back into the chorus. Another well above average song! Track 13 is "Getaway Car" and Morello leads the way with a light guitar riff while Wilk plays a super catchy drum beat to keep the pace and Cornell adds some nice high ooohing to ease his way into slow verse that matches the mood perfectly. Cornell gets louder in the similar chorus and he's the highlight of this song for sure with some super smooth and solid singing. This is the kind of song you never would've heard Rage play, but they really nail this slow, softer vibe as well. A different but still very well done song. The last song on this album is "The Last Remaining Light" and they slowly ease their way into a slow but interesting main riff with some trippy guitar by Morello and as always a solid rhythm section keeping the pace while Cornell holds lots of long notes that sound so smooth. After another slow round Morello plays a very light guitar solo, then they jam out one long final chorus to wrap things up. A decent finisher but not one of the best.

That is the end of "Audioslave" and I thought it was a pretty awesome debut album! The Rage guys still have all that made Rage so awesome, and you could (and I would) argue that Chris Cornell is an even better singer than Zack de la Rocha! There are so many excellent riffs on this album and it's just exploding with catchy and cool hard rock. I can't wait to see where Audioslave goes from here!