AUDIOSLAVE – Out Of Exile

Audioslave’s previous album, their self-titled 2002 debut, was not even close to what people hoped it to be. However, this fact was ignored by a worrying legion of music journalists and fans, wishing the supergroup a fond welcome with open arms. The album had its moments indeed, but it never lived up to the hypes, expectations, and wants of the press and the consumers. The great number of fillers on the album was totally overlooked, and the fact that the singles/stand-out-tracks hardly lifted above the average of what the band members had done before seemed to not matter. The hard-rocking world in 2002 needed this supergroup just like the band needed the hard rocking world (just like Velvet Revolver and their underachieving debut album two years later, with the same high level of boring fillers, and average “killers”).

The former Soundgarden and Rage Against The Machine members’ return to the music scene was justified by their great musical skills as performers, if not as composers. Take any song, let Chris Cornell interpret it with his magnificent voice, and it will be just as great of a listening experience as any. Let guitar virtuoso Tom Morello add his psycho string action on top of whatever tune, and he sure will make it sound alternative and experimental… if that is what you want.

Out Of Exile is Audioslave’s second release, and one more time they have managed to hide uneven compositions behind clever vocal and instrumental skills… once again, with a little help from producer Rick Rubin.

The first thing noticeable about this album is that most of the tunes are … ballads. That makes the album the least rocking rock album compared to expectations in a decade (since Bon Jovi’s These Days in 1995 that is…). Comparatively, Cornell’s laid back and excellent solo album, Euphoria Morning, is much more worth checking out. However, upbeat tracks like “Your Time Has Come” and “Man Or Animal” might please a crowd live, but as studio versions, they are easily forgettable.

Morello, however, has tried as hard as possible to create some inventive and alternative guitar work on this sleeve. Unfortunately, it turns out somewhat odd and twisted in his experimental and psychedelic way. From time to time, the guitar work has hardly anything to do with Rock music. From time to time it gets so finger-picking freaky, and the weird sounds he chooses reminds so little of guitar playing, that he might just as well have used keyboards.

Another thing, Chris Cornell is probably one of the genres greatest lyricists. Not that it says a lot, and not that he manages to prove this on Out Of Exile, but at least he has tried very hard. His best moments on their debut were “Show Me How To Live” and “I Am The Highway.” Very poetical. This time around he does not manage to reach the same level, even though he gets close with “The Worm.” Unfortunately, his lyrics are not fully worked through this time, and it looks like it is totally accidentally when or if a rhyme appears.

All in all, you should continue to hope for a great album from Audioslave. So far they haven’t managed to make one, but considering these guy’s skills and lists of merits, one can still expect them to.

Highlights: “Heaven’s Dead,” “Dandelion,” and the gem “Doesn’t Remind Me.”