Audioslave

By their very nature, supergroups often tend to involve complex equations, so how’s this one for simplicity; add one part Soundgarden to three parts Rage Against the Machine, and voila! You’ve got Audioslave. Zach de la Rocha’s initial departure from Rage didn’t dissuade Tom Morello, Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford from working together again, and when they went in search of a new frontman, Chris Cornell seemed like the perfect fit in terms of taking things in a new direction; he was keen to distance himself from Rage’s largely political outlook, and thus, Audioslave was born. The band aligned themselves, sonically, with a slightly more straightforward rock sound than Rage ever did, although inevitably they came to be defined in the same way - by Morello’s towering signature riffs. Onstage, Morello, Wilk and Commerford remained the same tight unit they’d always been, allowing Cornell to strut his stuff as assuredly as he ever did with Soundgarden. With no political driving force, the band took the opportunity to present their live shows in much more restrained fashion than Rage, with a simple backdrop and light show allowing the music to do the talking. The band split in 2007, after Revelations met with a lukewarm reception, but with Rage and Soundgarden reunions having wound down since, to rule out a reformation would be daft.

It’s safe to say that Audioslave had more to prove than just about any other band in the past thirty years. If anyone needs convincing then try to imagine the pressure of trying to rival the legacy of both Rage against the Machine *and* Soundgarden with every gig played, every note recorded and every lyric written. Imagine trying to match the influence, aggression, passion and radical spirit of not one, but two of the bands that personified alternative music in the 1990’s more completely than any other acts, save perhaps Nirvana. No band could possibly rival that. However it’s a little known fact that detatched from their pedigree, Audioslave were a truly vital addition to the rock scene of the early 21st century. Audioslave were famed for live shows that fused the thunderous riffage of 70’s Hard Rock with a quintessentially 90’s sense of iconoclasm and abrasiveness. Tom Morello’s unmistakeable guitar squeals welded perfectly with Chris Cornell’s famed vocals, welded together with style by Brad Wilk’s and Tom Commerford’s powerful rhythm section. While they may not quite catch lightning in a bottle the way that their predecessors did, remove the expectations and you will discover a band with far more to give than they were given credit for.