AUDIOSLAVE

Audioslave were an American hard rock supergroup who formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001. It consisted of ex-Soundgarden frontman, rhythm guitarist, and lead singer Chris Cornell and the former instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine: Tom Morello (guitar), Tim Commerford (bass and backing vocals) and Brad Wilk (drums). Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden, but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, it was noted that they had established a separate identity.
The band's trademark sound was created by blending 1970s hard rock with 1990s alternative rock. Moreover, Morello incorporated his well-known, unconventional guitar solos into this mix. As with Rage Against the Machine, the band prided themselves on the fact that all sounds on their albums were produced using only guitar, bass, drums and vocals.

After Audioslave released three successful albums, received three Grammy nominations, and became the first American rock band to perform an open-air concert in Cuba, Cornell issued a statement in February 2007 announcing that he was permanently leaving the band "due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences". As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave was officially disbanded.


Musical style and influences
By combining 70's style hard rock riffing with alternative rock, Audioslave created a distinctive sound. This mix was driven by Cornell's wide vocal range, Morello's innovative guitar solos and the rhythm section of Wilk and Commerford. Morello, although stating he "never felt musically limited" in Rage Against the Machine, did say that he had "a lot more scope to explore with Audioslave" and a "wider musical territory". This meant that the instrumentalists had the opportunity to write slow and melodic songs, something they had not done before.
As opposed to de la Rocha's lyrics, Cornell's were mostly apolitical; Morello referred to them as "haunted, existential poetry". They were characterized by his cryptic approach, often dealing with themes of existentialism, love, hedonism,spirituality and Christianity. Audioslave's first two albums drew influences from 1970s hard rock such as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, and from the members' previous bands (the alternative metal of Soundgarden and the funk metal of Rage Against the Machine). For Revelations, which was influenced by 1960s and 70s funk, soul and R&B music, Morello used vintage guitars and amplifiers, and Cornell adopted his "seventies funk and R&B-flavor vocals". The guitarist also cited Sly & the Family Stone, James Brown and Funkadelic as a reason for the funk overtones on the album.
Just as Rage Against the Machine did, Audioslave also included the statement "All sounds made by guitar, bass, drums, and vocals" in their albums' booklets as Morello's guitar work often caused listeners to believe that the band used samples, synthesizer effects or different turntable techniques to produce certain sounds.