Audioslave (album)

Audioslave was formed after Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine and the remaining members were searching for another vocalist. Producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they contact Chris Cornell. Rubin played the remaining Rage Against the Machine band members the Soundgarden song "Slaves & Bulldozers" to showcase his ability. Cornell was in the writing process of a second solo album, but decided to shelve that and pursue the opportunity to work with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk when they approached him. Morello described Cornell: "He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn't believe it. It didn't just sound good. It sounded transcendent. And... when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can't deny it."[7] The quartet wrote 21 songs during 19 days of rehearsal and began working in the studio in late May 2001.[8][9]

Songs from the album were first heard when thirteen rough rehearsal demo tracks were leaked onto various peer-to-peer filesharing networks on May 17, 2002, six months before the official release of the album, under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project").[10] According to guitarist Tom Morello "it was very frustrating, especially with a band like this, there is a certain amount of expectation."[11] He also said that the songs were not in their finished form and that in some cases "they weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind."[11] In an earlier, July 2002 interview with Metal Sludge he spoke more explicitly about the incident, blaming "some jackass intern at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle" for stealing the demos and putting them on the Internet without the band's permission.[12]

The band was nearly derailed before the album's release. Cornell was going through alcohol problems and a slot on the Ozzfest tour was canceled.[13] During this time, there was a rumor that Cornell had checked himself into drug rehabilitation. He later confirmed it in an interview with Metal Hammer that was conducted from a clinic payphone.[14] In a San Diego CityBeat article, Cornell explained that he went through "a horrible personal crisis" during the making of the first record, staying in rehab for two months and separating from his wife.[15] The problems were ironed out and he remained sober until shortly before his passing in 2017. The album was released on November 18, 2002, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States.[16] The band toured through 2003, before resting in 2004 to record their second album.

The album cover was designed by Storm Thorgerson (with Peter Curzon and Rupert Truman), who, as leader of the group of artists known as Hipgnosis, was best known for his cover work for Pink Floyd. "We knew we were going to set this idea of the eternal flame, the graphic flame, in Lanzarote, a volcanic island, since volcanoes suited the brooding menace of Audioslave," Thorgerson recalled. An unreleased version of the cover, shot elsewhere at the same location, features a naked man looking at the flame. "We so nearly used it," said Thorgerson, "but we were not entirely sure of the nude figure."[17]

All lyrics are written by Chris Cornell; all music is composed by Audioslave.

Audioslave

• Chris Cornell – vocals
• Tim Commerford – bass
• Brad Wilk – drums
• Tom Morello – guitars

Production

• Produced by Rick Rubin, co-produced by Audioslave
• Mixed by Rich Costey
• Recorded by David Schiffman and Andrew Scheps
• Additional engineering by John Burton, Floyd Reitsma, Thom Russo, and Andrew Scheps, assisted by Chris Holmes and Darron Mora
• Digital editing by Greg Fidelman, Thom Russo, and Andrew Scheps
• Album production coordinator/wrangler – Lindsay Chase
• Mastered by Vlado Meller, assisted by Steve Kadison
• Album cover by Storm Thorgerson and Peter Curzon
• Art direction by Storm Thorgerson, assisted by Dan Abbott and Finlay Cowan
• "Flame" logo by Peter Curzon
• Photography by Rupert Truman
• Band photos by Danny Clinch
• Sculpture made by Hothouse