Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 24.66.94.140 (talk) at 23:47, 17 September 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Audioslave" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Audiofuckadonkey is a rock supergroup consisting of Chris Cornell (former frontman of Soundgarden) and the instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine. Tom Morello plays guitar, Tim Commerford plays bass, and Brad Wilk drums. The music is fueled by Cornell's powerful voice and Morello's unique and unconventional style of guitar playing, with heavy hip hop-style solos, scratches down his guitar's neck, synthesizer-like sound effects, and an extensive use of pedals and devices to change the guitar's sound. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prides itself on the fact that all sounds are produced using only vocals, guitar, bass guitar, or drums.

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. The band is part of the Axis of Justice, which is a non-profit organization formed by 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 together."

History

Formation (2000–2001)

The band's history dates back to October of 2000, after Rage Against the Machine broke up when lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha left the band. The other three members of the seminal hard rock band stayed together, planning to continue as a trio under the "Rage" name, something which Zach was not happy about. Zach felt the name should only be used for the work they had all created together. Also, he had come up with the name originally while in Inside Out for a song which he had written and then used the name for RATM. Several vocalists jammed with the band at this time, including B-Real of Cypress Hill. Music producer Rick Rubin later suggested that they jam with Chris Cornell, formerly of Soundgarden, and "see what happens". The chemistry clicked between the singer and the three musicians, and they began work in the studio in May 2001, writing 21 songs in 19 days (the first of which was "Light My Way").

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 and well-known 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 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, drew mixed reactions from critics but has since 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 add much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream music. They toured extensively worldwide in 2003, silencing many critics and gaining largely positive reviews for their spectacular live performances, including overshadowing the headlining "reunited" Jane's Addiction at that year's version of Lollapalooza.

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 of 2005, Audioslave announced that their sophomore effort 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." While it was definitely a great experience for fans to see a multi-platinum selling band in venues so tiny, the downside was that many shows had sold out before they were technically even announced as happening.

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 latter given rave reviews and frequent radio airplay. Currently, the fourth single, "Out of Exile", is receiving moderate to high airplay on radio nationwide. The whole album was uploaded online at Audioslave's Myspace site for previewing. Critics did note Cornell's stronger vocals on Audioslave's sophomore disc, likely the result of him quitting smoking and drinking.

More recently, 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 Vivendi Games 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.

Revelations (2006–present)

Brendan O'Brien, who has produced or mixed the albums of numerous major rock acts of the past twenty years, including Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Incubus, and Bruce Springsteen, was at the helm for their third record, titled Revelations. Audioslave had 20 songs written (a few of which were sampled during their 2005 tour), and returned to the studio in early January to finish recording them. The album is said to have a number of songs influenced by old-school R&B and Soul. In a recent interview, guitarist Tom Morello said that the album would feature "funky grooves" similar to those of 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 political stance than previous Audioslave releases.

Revelations was released on September 5. "Original Fire", released July 17, was the first single from the effort. MTV.com reported that the video for the song, directed by P.R. Brown was shot on the week of July 3-7. On July 11, the song was made available online on Audioslave's official website for free streaming.

Two songs from the new album are prominently featured in Michael Mann's summer film, Miami Vice, and the title song "Revelations" is also featured on the soundtrack for the EA Sports football title Madden '07.

Solo projects

Lead singer Chris Cornell released a solo album, Euphoria Morning, in 1999 shortly after the breakup of Soundgarden. Cornell will record the theme song to the upcoming James Bond film, Casino Royale, and will provide a song for the upcoming Lionsgate thriller Bug. He will release his second solo album in 2007. He has denied rumors of the band breaking up.

Guitarist Tom Morello also performs solo under the name The Nightwatchman, though he has yet to release or announce a solo album. Recently announced on the official Nightwatchman page, Guitarist/Vocalist Tom Morello will release the first CD under the Nightwatchman moniker in the near future.

Bassist Tim Commerford and Drummer Brad Wilk have recently been in the studio together recording some Bass/Drums only tracks. Though at this time there is no word on a CD release.

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."... o 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."

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.

Christopher Price, singer for the UK's Audioslave, told the publication NME,

We'd had a few messages posted on our website from fans telling us that an American band was trying to steal our name--but we didn't take them seriously at first. Then, one day, our manager got a call from the U.S. to say they were interested in negotiating a deal--and it was then we decided we should get a solicitor involved. But we're all big fans of the American rock scene anyway, and we felt quite chuffed they wanted our name.

However, the UK band has now changed its name to The Most Terrifying Thing.

Live

Audioslave toured extensively in 2002/03 and again in 2005. Their shows have quickly become popular, and have often sold out at venues around the world. Audioslave has also been known to play unreleased or upcoming tracks at their shows, as well as a variety of cover songs. Some songs covered live have been "White Riot" (The Clash), "Seven Nation Army" (The White Stripes), "Working Man" (Rush), and numerous versions of songs from their past bands, including a song by Cornell's supergroup tribute band, (Temple of the Dog), called "Hunger Strike" among hits of their other bands, (Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine). Many of these songs, as well as plenty of other original live material, can be legally downloaded at various places on the internet.

It has been said that Audioslave will begin touring in support of Revelations in 2007.

According to sources at their record label, the UK tour and the Reading and Leeds Festivals appearance were cancelled because of personal and family issues.RockReview

Fan Club

In May 2006 Audiophiles, Audioslave's official fan club, was launched with the full support of the band. The fan club receives numerous benefits because of its affiliation with the band, including exclusive media (videos and audio clips) and info (interviews, reports etc.). Pre-sale tickets are also available to members of the club, as well as contests for items such as signed memorabilia.

Discography

Studio albums

• 1. Audioslave
  (November 19, 2002)
  Epic
  #7 US
  3x Platinum
• 2. Out of Exile
  (May 24, 2005)
  Epic
  #1 US
  Platinum
• 3. Revelations (September 5, 2006) Epic #2 U.S. #1 Canada #1 Australia Gold 3. Revelations
  (September 5, 2006)
  Epic
  #2 U.S.
  #1 Canada
  #1 Australia
  Gold

Live albums and compilations

• Audioslave (DVD)
  (2003)
  Epic
• Live in Cuba (DVD)
  (October 11, 2005)
  Epic

Singles

Music Videos

• Cochise - 2002
• Like a Stone - 2003
• Show Me How To Live - 2003
• Be Yourself - 2005
• Your Time Has Come - 2005
• Doesn't Remind Me - 2005
• Original Fire - 2006
• Revelations - 2006

Music sample

Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end

References

• "Audioslave Works Out Settlement To Share Name With UK Band". LAUNCH. Oct. 24, 2002. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
• "Audioslave To Make History By Playing Free Show In Cuba". MTV. May 4, 2005.

External links

• Audioslave official site
• Template:MySpace-music
• Template:Last.fm
• Template:MTVartist
• The Audioslave Fan Forum

• Alternative musical groups
• Post-grunge groups
• Rock music groups
• Supergroups
• California musical groups
• Interscope Records artists