And the lead single, Be Yourself, definitely gives way to the belief that these guys will be around for some time (assuming their new band does not suffer the same fate as their previous bands, of course). It's a catchy tune much in the same realm of Like A Stone. It's a slower, more thought out track lyrically. It works quite well with it's pretty simple message of "To be yourself is all that you can do."
Tracks like Man Or Animal and The Worm also bode well for the disc, with tracks that are musically sound. The lyrics are simple head-scratchers, which may sound like an oxy-moron, but it is the case nonetheless (this is more the case for Man Or Animal than for The Worm). These songs are mostly about enjoying the music, which is able to be done.
Your Time Has Come and #1 Zero continue this consistent musical theme that seems to work pretty well for this group of guys while providing lyrics that seem to work really well and help get you into the songs. Meanwhile, Drown Me Slowly and Heaven's Dead are songs of angst and bitter anger. They offer little in the way of hope, but they actually end up being decent songs thanks to the music.
Doesn't Remind Me is one of the most inriguing tracks on the disc lyrically. It turns out to be a step above almost all of the rest of the disc (except possibly Be Yourself and Man Or Animal) because it is not only lyrically sound, but it is one of the more creative musical tracks as well. It is one of the tracks most worth checking out on this disc, because it doesn't really fit the mold of what you would hear from Audioslave on the radio, but it encompasses a lot of what this band is.
Overall, Out Of Exile has no major issues. The disc itself is pretty solid. The sole problem it has is that it seems to be stuck in a rut. Many of the songs just seem to jumble together and sound the same, save a few tracks. Each track certainly has some very cool musical elements and sometimes some great lyrics to go along with them, but the base of each track is musically similar. There are no tracks that really jump out as that much better than the rest. It's certainly not a bad disc; quite frankly, the disc is pretty solid. But it is just missing those one or two tracks that jump out, grab you and make you want to embrace this disc. It's not a sophomore slump, but Out Of Exile is definitely not a triumph in musical creativity.