Audioslave

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• Genre: Alt Metal
• Hometown: Los Angeles
• Audioslave Website

About

Audioslave combine three former members of Rage Against The Machine with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. Despite early talk that the group might retain the RATM name and some stop-start activity prior to releasing their debut, the band emerged as a newly named unit in 2002 with a sound that substituted Cornell's powerful introspection for Rage's political fury. Though it's hard to hear their debut as much more than a collaboration between two forceful personalities, the dynamic does offer major fist-pumping power and has lead to subsequent albums. Out of Exile appeared in 2005, mostly conforming to the band's established modern hard rock pattern. 2006's Revelations, however, took a rootsier approach. First single "Original Fire" shakes and rattles with an almost bluesy swagger, marking a new direction for the supergroup. No tour in support of the album led to some fan speculation of a breakup...and that's exactly what happened. Rage Against the Machine reunited in 2007 and Chris Cornell eased back into a solo career.

- Jon Pruett