Room by room patiently,
I'll wait for you there,
Like a stone,
I'll wait for you there,
Alone."
Audioslave was an American Hard Rock Supergroup, basically Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell fronting Rage Against the Machine, minus the rapping and politics. The band was founded in 2001, and disbanded unceremoniously in 2007.
The project began when the members of Rage found themselves without a singer after frontman Zach de la Rocha quit the band in 2000. The remaining three members decided that they wanted to continue working together and auditioned several A-list frontmen - including B-Real from Cypress Hill - before bringing in Cornell.
The group recorded a handful of demos, first under the name Civilian (before discovering that name was taken) and then Audioslave (which in a weird coincidence, was also taken by a British group; That band wound up changing their name). Their first album was released in 2002, and was essentially an amalgamation of their former bands' sounds: the grooving hard rock of Rage lead by the grungy singing of Soundgarden. They would together for two more albums, Out of Exile (2005) and Revelations (2006). Differences between Cornell and Morello resulted in the band splitting up in 2007. Cornell then resumed his solo career and eventually reformed Soundgarden in 2010. Rage Against the Machine reformed too that same year, with de la Rocha on board.
The band reunited for a single concert in January 2017. The band, particularly Cornell, strongly hinted that there could be more shows down the road at some point, but Cornell's suicide in May of that year officially put an end to all future Audioslave activity.
Audioslave is mostly famous for introducing Morello's mad guitar effects to a rock soundscape, as opposed to Rage's rap-oriented compositions. Initially the band's direction prohibited Morello and the two other guys to compose politically-charged songs, but eventually this rule was nullednote , most famously heralded by the band being the first American rock band to play in the Cuba's socialist soil (2005).
Discography:
- Audioslave (2002)
- Out of Exile (2005)
- Revelations (2006)
Show Me How To Trope:
- Ambiguously Christian: Audioslave's songs do deal with spiritual themes, particularly on songs such as "Show Me How To Live" (which directly invokes salvation through Christ because of his crucifixion), and "Like a Stone" (existential questioning of the afterlife). However, the band has no hard-line stance for the Christian religion, and such Christian themes are just an aspect of the band's overall introspective songwriting.
- The Band Minus the Face: As mentioned above, the band was essentially "the singer from Soundgarden fronting Rage Against The Machine."
- Be Yourself: The name of one of their songs. The song was ''possibly' the Trope Namer for the respecting trope.To be yourself is all that you can do
-
Breakup Breakout: Soundgarden. Inverted with the Rage guys. - Concept Video
- Control Freak: Per word of Cornell, Tom Morello's desire for too much creative control is what broke the band up.
- Everything Is an Instrument: Inverted. Their albums include a disclaimer saying that all of the music is played on guitar, bass, drums and vocals due to Tom Morello's unconventional guitar playing to create unusual sounds.
- Free-Handed Performer: Enforced. Chris Cornell can play the guitar, as showcased by his other band, Soundgarden, however his guitar parts clashed with Tom Morello's guitar sound, thus it was decided by the band that Chris would only do the vocals.
- In Name Only: Averted. While the band arguably could have chosen a better name, calling themselves anything other than Rage Against The Machine sealed that band's legacy for the time being.
- In the Style of: Soundgarden songs in the style of Rage? Or the other way around? Or neither? The band started out as a sounding like a hybrid between both bands, though as time passed their sound became more distinct.
- Inspirational Martyr: The focus of "Set It Off":And there he played his cardGoing into shockThe last thing that he said was
- Lighter and Softer: Soundgarden had a lot of psychedelic influences in their music, while Rage Against the Machine had funk-metal, rapping and political issues. Audioslave doesn't really have any of those things.
- Loudness War: A given, considering that Rick Rubin, a serial offender, produced their first two albums.
- Although it's pretty muted, compared to some other examples he's produced (''Californication'' comes immediately to mind).
- Mr. Fanservice: The videos focus a LOT on Chris' looks. He even goes shirtless in the "Show Me How to Live" video.
- Non-Appearing Title: "Cochise," "Exploder," "Hypnotize," "Bring 'Em Back Alive."
- Piss-Take Rap: Chris Cornell's attempts to vocalise Zach De La Rocha's parts in "Killing In The Name"
, which he doesn't do well. - Performance Video
- Protest Song: "Wide Awake"
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Audioslave would play on the 2003 Lollapalooza tour, which was being styled as the big comeback for festival founders Jane's Addiction. By most reports the Audioslave sets were so energetic that audiences would be beat and slowly file out during Jane's Addiction's set.
- Supergroup: Of course.
- Three Instruments And The Truth: Rage-style, the liner notes remind the listeners that all the weird sounds came from Morello screwing with his guitar.
- Title-Only Chorus: "Somedays"
- Whole-Plot Reference: The music video of "Show Me How To Live" is a highly-condensed remake of Vanishing Point.
