Audioslave – Out of Exile

Interscope Records

2005

Released on May 23, 2005, Out of Exile, Audioslave’s second studio album, was met with mostly favorable reviews. After the commercial success of the band’s debut album released three years previously an extensive tour cycle saw the band through much of 2003, so when the band had gotten to know each other, essentially on the road, there was always the sense that the sophomore record could be something a bit different to its brash predecessor. Out of Exile was produced by famed couch recliner extraordinaire Rick Rubin variously at Cello Studios, the Academie Mathematique of Philosophical research and Sunset Sound studios in California, Audioslave had always been something of a novelty band around the time of their inception in 2002; the first real super-group fusing the driving rhythm of Rage Against The Machine with the soulful wistfulness of the voice of Soundgarden. Many, as with the creation of Velvet Revolver a few years later, were curious to see how it would all pan out; the ultimate alternative rock experiment if you will and so was the late, very great, Chris Cornell himself who in a 2006 interview with Spin magazine described his introduction to the other members of the band as: “Like switching schools [it was] awhile before It felt “Oh, this is my home and these are my friends and this is my band and they’re going to be different from my other band” Then it didn’t feel like there was any reason not to keep going”.

Out of Exile kicks things off with “Your Time Has Come”, a bouncy rock tune featuring the tried and true Tom Morello idiosyncratic guitar riff with driving bass from Tim Commerford and dynamic drums from Brad Wilk, before then leading into a catchy chorus and now sadly poignant refrain from Cornell of ” I don’t know why you’re dying long before your time has come”. The track then leads into a memorable guitar solo from Morello before ending out with the driving verse section. What is apparent with this track is that the Audioslave sound has matured; the music is still full on but much more focused and retrained, the almost stadium rock sensibilities of Audioslave have been eschewed it would seem in favor of a more striped back classic rock vibe. All in all an excellent start to the record. This restrained aura continues on the next track “Out of Exile” featuring a marching snare drum pattern from Wilk before leading into a great rock riff from Morello which transitions to Cornell’s introspective vocals before leading into another atonal solo from Morello. The song is an interesting departure for the band and is a good indicator of the nature of the material to be found on Out of Exile.

Next up is “Be Yourself”, the albums lead single. Beginning with wistful guitar from Morello before being joined by Commerford’s rumbling bass and Wilk’s one and two drumming pattern before the soaring chorus provided by Cornell, the song is easily one of the most memorable to be found on the record and maybe one of the best the band had written. Cornell’s lyrics are vibrant and thought-provoking, with the previous record, a lot of critics criticized Cornell for his at times abstract lyrics which I always found to be rather unfair; the biggest culprit of that is Anthony Keidis. One cannot argue with the poignant beauty of lyrics such as: “someone gets excited in a chapel yard, catches a bouquet, another lays a dozen, white roses on a grave” an excellent analogy of life and death and the songs ends with a suitably grandiose crescendo. “Doesn’t Remind Me” follows and starts of rather intriguingly with jangly guitar and stomping percussion and features some more of Cornell’s abstract lyrics before leading into a heavy chorus. It’s good to hear that while Audioslave use the tried and true quiet/loud dynamic in this song they mix it up with a different second verse feel courtesy of the excellent Brad Wilk. The song then takes another turn after the second chorus into a slightly trippy middle section feature excellent vocals from Cornell and another atonally furious solo from Morello. There is a lot going on with this track and it’s one of the highlights of Out of Exile and featured a memorable music video too.

“Drown Me Slowly” is next and it’s the weakest track to be found on Out of Exile at this point on the record. A fairly throwaway track that doesn’t really take the listener anywhere, it is mostly a collection of interesting ideas thrown together, featuring a seriously ill-advised weird scratch guitar effect from Morello. “Heavens Dead” follows and it is basically a vehicle for Cornell to showcase his always impressive vocal skill. “Heavens Dead” is not a bad song per se, it’s just that it falls a bit flat and like the previous track never really gets out of first gear. ” The Worm”, however, is much better and it is almost reminiscent of Soundgarden in many ways featuring knowing, confessional and nay-saying addressing lyrics from Cornell, heavy guitar from Morello and a driving rhythm section. The track is beautifully deranged and heavy leading into an interesting bridge section and is another definite highlight of the record.

“Man or Animal” follows and it is an out an out frenzied rocker and perhaps the track on Out of Exile most reminiscent of Audioslave. The track is let down somewhat by Morello’s guitar noodling, which sometimes can be something of an acquired taste, especially in the rock pantheon. Nevertheless, “Man or Animal is a decent track which doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. Next up is “Yesterday to Tomorrow” which starts of with a groovy bass riff before joined in union by guitar and drums, however this is Commerfords song, with the bass holding together the track to great effect. “Yesterday to Tomorrow” is a fairly inoffensive tune, with some interesting effects and ideas which help keep the track fresh on repeated listens. “Dandelion” is a breezy alternative rock tune featuring excellent lyrical imagery from Cornell, again the song is pretty inoffensive and it is slightly by the numbers: it is neither here nor there in terms of quality and somewhat disjointed as a result. “# Zero” follows with a slightly bluesy feel to it. This track is yet another showcase for Cornell’s more soulful side and the song is decent if somewhat dull save for the Sabbathy riffing in the songs middle section. Out of Exile finishes with “The Curse” a fairly average closer to what has been a mostly enjoyable if slightly bloated album. The song is fairly redundant, maudlin and nothing really new from what the other two tracks have already provided, which is a kind of shame because Out of Exile has had some truly great and inspired moments of songwriting.

Out of Exile was received well by critics and was a number one record for the band. Extensive touring would follow and a this growing momentum would result in a follow-up record, Revelations, released in 2006. Audioslave would then enter something of a hiatus and following some solo work, Cornell would eventually return to Soundgarden and even record a studio album with his old band, whilst the Rage Against The Machine members would also reunite with their own past for a time. Sadly, Chris Cornell passed away on May 18th 2017. Long before his time had come. You know, it’s something of a strange thing, I started this particular blog on Wednesday, which also happened to be World Mental Health day, the previous few days I had been listening to Audioslave. I always like to think that Chris had a certain kind of hope to his lyrics and the voice to convey that hope, I only hope that people who may have lost some of that hope (because this is a tricky world we live in now and let’s face it, life is tough) will find the mechanism to speak about how they feel, for Chris that clearly, tragically, was not the case but he leaves behind quite a legacy.

Out of Exile is just a small part of that legacy. Granted the record could afford to lose three or four of its filler tracks, but really that’s just nitpicking; it’s not even the greatest record Cornell sang on, but I do feel it has been somewhat forgotten in the wake of his greater works. Also the other members deserve great credit for providing some stellar musical parts. If it’s been some time since you last gave Out of Exile a spin, do revisit it, if Audioslave was never really your thing, well, give this record a go, for me this is the definite Audioslave record and while the idea of a “super-group” is now old hat fans of rock will find plenty to enjoy about this record if they give it a chance.

Works Cited:

Lynsky, Dorian.( 2006, September) Chris Cornell’s 2006 Interview on Audioslave, Addiction and Reinventing Rock. Spin.