Audioslave
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Audioslave | ||
|---|---|---|
 (From left) Brad Wilk, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, Chris Cornell
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Los Angeles, California, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Hard rock Alternative rock |
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| Years active | 2001 – 2007 | |
| Label(s) | SonyBMG Epic Interscope |
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| Associated acts |
Soundgarden Rage Against the Machine Temple of the Dog Chris Cornell The Nightwatchman |
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| Website | Official Website Official Fan Club |
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| Former members | ||
| Chris Cornell - Vocals Tom Morello - Guitar Tim Commerford - Bass Guitar Brad Wilk - Drums |
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Audioslave was an alternative/hard rock supergroup that consisted of the former instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine: Tom Morello (guitar), Tim Commerford (bass and back-up vocals) and Brad Wilk (drums), together with Chris Cornell (former lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Soundgarden) as their lead singer. The band formed after the break-up of Rage Against the Machine.
On February 15, 2007, Chris Cornell issued a statement that he was leaving, putting the band's future into question.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Formation (2000–2001)
The band's history dates back to October 2000, after Rage Against the Machine broke up when lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha left the band. The other three members of the band decided to stay together, planning to continue as a trio under the "Rage" name. Several vocalists jammed with the band at this time, including B-Real of Cypress Hill and Maynard James Keenan of Tool. Music producer Rick Rubin later suggested that they jam with Cornell and "see what happens".[citation needed] The chemistry between the singer and the three musicians became immediately apparent, and they began work in the studio in May 2001, writing 21 songs in 19 days (the first of which was "Light My Way" and the third being "Set It Off").
[edit] Name
Tom Morello described the origin of the name to LAUNCHcast:
- That was Chris's 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.
Morello added of the name, "I think it adds a kind of three-dimensional depth to the rest of the package."
It can also be speculated their name resembles a conglomerate naming convention with 'audio' being an alternative to the 'sound' in Soundgarden and 'slave' being polar to 'raging', as in Rage Against The Machine.
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 the U.S. band paying $30,000 in a deal that allowed each band to use the name. Part of the agreement was that each band was to be true to its own identity when marketing and promoting recordings or concerts.
[edit] Audioslave (2002–2003)
Allegations that they argued during production are not entirely unfounded; the group broke up in April 2002, before they had even released an album. Under the tentative name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project"), 14 rough demo tracks were leaked onto various peer-to-peer filesharing networks around the same time as their pre-Audioslave breakup, confirming any rumors of the new RATM/Chris Cornell formation. The most notorious aspect of their temporary dissolution came that summer after the band cancelled their appearance in the popular annual rock festival Ozzfest. Subsequent interviews with the band revealed that early problems had been partly due to external pressures which were resolved when the band members sacked their previous management companies and hired Los Angeles-based company The Firm.
Once that was completed, the Audioslave moniker was chosen by the band, and in August 2002, Audioslave's first single, "Cochise", was released, named for the famous American Indian chief, the last to die free and unconquered. Later in the fall, they would go on to release their debut, self-titled album on November 19, 2002.
The group's first studio album, Audioslave has attained triple platinum-selling status. Some lambasted the group as millionaire musicians who constantly argued during album production, and whose 1970s rock sound is primarily the result of post-studio modification. Others compared them to Led Zeppelin, saying they added much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream music. They toured extensively worldwide in 2003, gaining largely positive reviews for their live performances, including overshadowing the headlining "reunited" Jane's Addiction at that year's version of Lollapalooza.
[edit] Out of Exile (2004–2005)
After spending some time off in 2004, they returned in fall of the same year to record the follow-up. In early Spring 2005, Audioslave announced that their follow-up album was completed and would see release that summer. As a special treat to fans who did not see them on Lollapalooza, the band secretly booked a small club tour to promote their upcoming album. On this tour, the band began performing songs from their previous bands, including Soundgarden's "Spoonman", "Outshined", and "Black Hole Sun", Rage Against The Machine's "Bulls on Parade", "Sleep Now in the Fire", and "Killing in the Name" as well as several new songs, including "Your Time Has Come", "Be Yourself", "Doesn't Remind Me", "The Worm", and "Man Or Animal".
On May 31, 2005, Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing for free in front of an audience of 70,000. The concert was organized with the joint authorization of the United States Department of the Treasury and the Instituto Cubano de la Musica. This concert was recorded, and released on DVD on October 11, 2005. It came in two versions, a basic package consisting of only the DVD, and a deluxe edition consisting of a DVD and a CD of the Sessions@AOL.
Their second album, Out of Exile, was released on May 24, 2005. It debuted #1 on the U.S. charts, and featured the song "Be Yourself" as the leading single. "Be Yourself" was soon followed by "Your Time Has Come" and "Doesn't Remind Me". The fourth single was the title track, "Out of Exile" The whole album was uploaded online at Audioslave's MySpace site for previewing. Critics did note Cornell's stronger vocals on Audioslave's second LP, likely the result of his quitting smoking and drinking.[citation needed]
That summer Audioslave performed at the Live 8 concerts. Their performance was in Berlin, Germany. On August 19, 2005, Audioslave announced their first-ever headlining arena tour across the U.S. and Canada. Audioslave were nominated for the 2006 Grammy Awards in the "Best Hard Rock Performance" category for their song "Doesn't Remind Me".
In 2006, video game company Empire Interactive announced that two songs from Out of Exile, "Your Time Has Come" and "Man Or Animal", would be featured on its racing game, FlatOut 2.
[edit] Revelations, Rage and the breakup (2006–2007)
The band wasted no time recording their next album, Revelations, hiring producer Brendan O'Brien, who had worked with acts including Rage Against The Machine, Soundgarden, Korn, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Incubus, and Bruce Springsteen. Audioslave had 20 songs written and returned to the studio in early January to finish recording them. As the bulk was sampled during their 2005 tour, the recording process took only 6 weeks. Revelations was released on September 5. The album has a number of songs influenced by old-school R&B and Soul, with guitarist Tom Morello describing the album as a cross between Led Zeppelin and Earth, Wind & Fire. Several of the songs on the new album, such as "Wide Awake" and "Sound of a Gun", take a more overtly liberal political stance than previous Audioslave releases. "Original Fire" the first single from the effort, was directed by P.R. Brown between July 3-July 7 and released July 17. On July 11, the song was made available online on Audioslave's official website for free streaming.
The songs "Wide Awake" and "Shape Of Things To Come" from the new album are prominently featured in Michael Mann's summer film, Miami Vice. This was not the first time Mann had featured Audioslave in his work; his earlier film Collateral features the song "Shadow on the Sun" from the group's self-titled debut. The title song of their third album, "Revelations", is also featured on the soundtrack for the EA Sports football title Madden '07.
Chris Cornell wanted to delay the Revelations-tour in support of the new album, because he wanted to concentrate on his second solo album. Tom Morello said that he also is preparing his first solo album (see below) in the spring. More recently, it was confirmed by Billboard that Rage Against the Machine will be reunited for a show at Coachella festival on 29 April [2]. The reunion performance will primarily be a vehicle to voice the band's opposition to the "right-wing purgatory" that the United States has "slid into" under the George W. Bush administration since RATM's dissolution. Although initial news said that this will be a one-off show, Morello didn't rule out more such performances. Three more performances are planned as part of Rock the Bells with the Wu-Tang Clan and will be played in New York as well as northern and southern California.
On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, issuing this statement:
¨Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors.¨ [3]
On February 23, New York Post reported that "sources tell that the split had more to do with money than anything else. According to the source: 'Chris was unhappy with the financial arrangement within the group - he wrote all the music, yet the other three bandmates took an equal share in the multimillion-dollar publishing rights.'" [4]
[edit] Solo projects
Lead singer Chris Cornell released a solo album, Euphoria Morning, during the time between his leaving Soundgarden and forming Audioslave. Cornell recorded "You Know My Name", the theme song to the 21st James Bond film, Casino Royale, and will provide a song for the upcoming Lionsgate thriller Bug. He will release his second solo album, Carry On on June 5, 2007.[5]
Guitarist Tom Morello also performs solo under the name The Nightwatchman. It was recently announced on Billboard that Morello is going to release his first album One Man Revolution under the Nightwatchman moniker on April 24, 2007. The 13-track set was produced by Brendan O'Brien and sports more acoustic-based compositions than his work in Audioslave and Rage Against the Machine.
Bassist Tim Commerford and Drummer Brad Wilk have recently been in the studio together recording some Bass/Drums only tracks. In addition, both have contributed to Maynard James Keenan's Puscifer side project, though currently there is no word on a CD release for either.
[edit] Political agenda
While Rage Against the Machine's music was politically influenced, Audioslave's originally was not, as Chris Cornell said he did not want to become the new singer of Rage Against the Machine and needed the freedom to write lyrics which were not overtly political. However, some songs on their newest album, Revelations, are politically influenced, which was explained by Cornell who says that he always tries to evoke his feelings into lyrics with no matter of subject. The band is part of the "Axis of Justice", which is a non-profit organization formed by Tom Morello and Serj Tankian of System of a Down. Its purpose is to "bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots political organizations to fight for social justice." [3] Despite their newfound ability to remain traditional artists without direct political involvement, Audioslave has remained active in politics. Some of their music videos, their affiliation with other political bands, and the foundation of the Axis of Justice is testament to the "Rage Against the Machine" vibe still lingering in the three instrumental musicians.
[edit] Discography
- "Out of Exile" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- From Out of Exile (2006)
- Problems playing the files? See media help.
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 Epic |
[edit] Reviews
- CD Review for "Revelations" by Chris Andrade on October 18, 2006 at kMNR...Music News Weekly
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ "99.9 Percent Chance of Audioslave Breakup", rollingstone.com, February 15, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ "Chris Cornell Talks About Audioslave Breakup", starpulse.com, February 21, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ Chris Harris. "Chris Cornell Talks Audioslave Split, Nixes Soundgarden Reunion", MTV, February 15, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- ^ NYP news about Chris Cornell leaving [1]
- ^ Chris Harris. "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP — But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split", MTV, July 26, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-27.
- "Audioslave Works Out Settlement To Share Name With UK Band", LAUNCH, October . 24, 2002.
- "Audioslave To Make History By Playing Free Show In Cuba", MTV, May 4, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Audioslave official site
- Audioslave at MySpace
- Audioslave at Last.fm
- Audioslave Latino
- The Audioslave Fan Forum
- Audioslave Live & Rare Songs
- "Audioslave; Live and Rare"
- "Audioslave; Ressources"
| Audioslave |
| Chris Cornell | Tom Morello | Tim Commerford | Brad Wilk |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: Audioslave | Out of Exile | Revelations |
| DVDs: Audioslave | Live in Cuba |
| Singles: "Cochise" | "Like a Stone" | "Show Me How To Live" | "I Am The Highway" | "What You Are" | "Be Yourself" | "Your Time Has Come" | "Doesn't Remind Me" | "Out of Exile" | "Original Fire" | "Revelations" |
| Related articles |
| Rage Against the Machine | Soundgarden | Interscope Records | Epic Records | Axis of Justice |
Categories: Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Alternative musical groups | American musical groups | California musical groups | Interscope Records artists | Musical groups established in 2001 | Post-grunge groups | Quartets | Rock music groups | Supergroups
