With their sophomore release, �Out of Exile,� Audioslave defy their critics again by proving that not only can they rock, but they can rock consistently.
Audioslave, the fusion of 90s grunge band Soundgarden�s lead singer Chris Cornell and three-fourths of rock group Rage Against the Machine, hit big with their debut album in 2002. Unfortunately, like their debut, �Out of Exile� only breaks new ground on a select few songs. The album is essentially one heavy-rock song after another, driven by guitarist Tom Morello (who gets at least one melodramatic guitar solo per song). Cornell�s troubled drawl sounds as much like an angrier Eddie Vedder as it has before, but here, his voice is perhaps strained by age.
The album begins with �Your Time Has Come,� which starts off with a strong chord progression that eventually becomes drowned in the other sounds of the song. Such is the same fate for nearly every song; there are usually one or two interesting guitar tricks that are drowned out by too much clutter, to the point where songs become painful exercises in trying to discern different sounds from one another.
Even moments of sonic simplicity don�t hit the spot the way you would hope them to. Cornell�s voice reaches moments of emotional purity, which are promptly drowned out by the rest of the band. The most painful moment on the album would have to be �The Worm,� with a cheesy 70�s-era guitar solo near the end that forced me to question the integrity of the entire album.
Things pick up again with �Man or Animal,� which tries out a few new types of sounds. The funky �Dandelion� is also a highlight, with an interesting pace and melody. The softest song on the album, the lyrics are bliss: �Settle down now and sit with me / Let me tell you how this all came to be / A yellow flower with your pedals to the air / And flying on paper wings that brought you here.� Audioslave fans will also like the title track, which builds from a ch-ch-ch-ch guitar crunch and unleashes into Cornell�s best performance and the best melody on the album.
I suggest downloading these songs, especially the sighing �Out of Exile,� over buying the album (unless you�re a diehard Soundgarden or Rage Against the Machine fan). There are very few moments of true bliss on the album, but overall the album will grow on you if you give it a chance. There�s nothing as adventurous on �Out of Exile� as the softer content of Nine Inch Nails� �With Teeth,� but on the other hand, the melodies and instrumentals are overall stronger than Nine Inch Nails� latest effort. Get both.
Download: �Man or Animal�, �Out of Exile
Recommended: Audioslave's debut and Pearl Jam's Vitalogy |
