One of the most interesting things about Audioslave all together is the history of its band members. Chris Cornell, lead singer (one of my favorite voices in modern rock), has his roots in the grunge capitol of the world, Seattle. His old band, Soundgarden, was highly successful and is known as one of the best of its kind. They had a sound that was less scrappy than most Seattle grunge like Nirvana or The Screaming Trees, but still had similar guitar riffs and distortion. You could compare most of Chris Cornell's work to the work of Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. They both have the same occasional raspiness to their voices and hold out a note in the same way. Despite the slightly more cleaned up sound of Audioslave, Cornell has retained the same style as in Soundgarden. As for guitarist, Tom Morello, bassist, Tim Commerford, and drummer, Brad Wilk, they had their success in the band Rage Against the Machine. With Zack De La Rocha as the lead singer, they were an all out hard-core, alternative group. Zack's rap-style vocals on top of Morello's semi-heavy guitar and Commerford's prominent bass gave them an extremely unique sound that tons of bands have tries to recreate, but usually can't capture. Audioslave has brought out the best of its members, for example, Tom Morello has had more solos in Audioslave, which gives him a better chance to show off his amazing talent with a wah pedal. (One thing I want to know about Tom is why he wears his guitar so high, I play guitar and higher is a bit easier, but he wears it up to an uncomfortable height.)
Out of Exile is their second album after their self-titled debut album. Your Time has Come is the first track. It was great song to start with, it begins with an unusual intro for Tom Morello, and then jumps to a classic RATM guitar route. It gives the album a good, fast-paced start, and gives you a taste of Cornell's 'Veddery' voice. The title track, Out of Exile . comes next. It has a great, steady beat and begins with a light intro that builds up to a harder guitar. The sound during the verses gets less full and the vocals are slow and smooth. In the refrain there’s cool, scratchy guitar and the drums are absolutely perfect for it. After that is Be Yourself , which was discovered by DJ's after the release of the album. It never ceases to amaze me how the intro and verse guitar is played around the twelveth position on the B and G strings, yet does not sound too high or corny at all. It has that unbeatable wah solo by Morello and great, simple drum beat to go with the slowish guitar. Its one of my favorites on the album.
Now I'm sure that everyone has heard enough of Doesn't Remind Me , which got unbelievable radio play for an alternative-rock group. It’s a great song, and extremely catchy, but I'll have to save that one for later to really enjoy it. Skipping to the sixth track is Heaven's Dead , another of my favorites. It has an overall mellow and smooth sound, and the perfect amount of distortion in the refrain. The overall feel of the song may remind you of Soundgarden songs like “Black Hole Sun”.
I’m not going to go track by track throughout the entire album, but the rest is certainly as good the first half, like the songs “Dandelion” and “The Curse”. I strongly recommend this album to anyone who likes things like Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction, or Pearl Jam. It is defiantly not something you want to get off on itunes, you’ll want the jewel case for this one.
1. Your Time Has Come- B+
2. Out Of Exile- B+
3. Be Yourself- A+
4. Doesn't Remind Me- A
5. Drown Me Slowly- B
6. Heavens Dead- A+
7. The Worm- B+
8. Man Or Animal- B
9. Yesterday To Tomorrow- B+
10. Dandelion- A
11. #1 Zero- B
12. The Curse- A
On a related note, the new self-titled Pearl Jam album comes out tomorrow. Finally, they have come out of hiding, or whatver they were doing. Grunge is still thriving and I got tickets!
