Revelations (Audioslave album)

Revelations is the third and final studio album by American rock supergroup Audioslave. It was released on September 4, 2006 internationally and a day later in the United States, by Epic Records and Interscope Records. The band's lead vocalist Chris Cornell departed from the band shortly after the album's release in February 2007, and the band later split in the same year. Music producer Brendan O'Brien reunited with Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk after producing the Rage Against the Machine albums Evil Empire and The Battle of Los Angeles, and their cover of Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad". This was also his first album with Chris Cornell after having done the mixing for the Soundgarden album Superunknown.

Revelations
Studio album by
Audioslave
ReleasedSeptember 4, 2006
RecordedOctober 2005 - January 2006
Studio
Genre
Length48:28
Label
ProducerBrendan O'Brien
Audioslave chronology
Out of Exile
(2005)		 Revelations
(2006)
Singles from Revelations
  1. "Original Fire"
    Released: July 17, 2006
  2. "Revelations"
    Released: November 2006

Background

Audioslave had 20 songs written (a few of which were sampled during their 2005 tour),[1] and returned to the studio in early January 2006 to finish recording them. For Revelations, which was influenced by 1960s and 70s music, Cornell adopted his "seventies funk and R&B-flavor vocals."[2] Guitarist Tom Morello described the sound as "Earth, Wind and Fire meets Led Zeppelin".[3] Musically, the album is similar to Audioslave's previous album, but with a twist. The band incorporates soul and funk influences in many (if not all) of the songs on the album. Love, life and loss are all themes on the new album. Political activism is also starting to rear its head in Audioslave's music with songs such as "Wide Awake", which uses the Hurricane Katrina disaster and George W. Bush as subject matter.[4]

Morello stated that Revelations was "the first record [Cornell] didn't smoke, drink or take drugs through the recording."[5] However, Morello said: "Chris was stone sober during the making of our Out of Exile album. Chris was also sober during the making of Revelations and prior to recording he gave up smoking as well. I apologize for any confusion or concern that was stirred up by the original article. Sobriety can be a matter of life or death and Chris' courage in maintaining his health for years has been an inspiration."[6] The band had completed the record when producer Brendan O'Brien requested one more song to close it. The next day, they wrote and recorded "Moth", making it the last song Audioslave made together. Chris Cornell sings in it "I won't fly around your fire anymore".[7]

Despite the exposure to other forms of media and the positive critical buzz for their third album, Audioslave did not tour behind the release. They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete "You Know My Name", the theme song for the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of The Nightwatchman.[8] News about Cornell's departure first emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album he would split for a solo career. The singer immediately denied the rumors, stating "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. ... I always just ignore [them]."[8] On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, stating that "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."[9] 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.[10] As a result, most tracks were not ever performed live by the band, outside of "One and the Same", "Wide Awake", and "Sound of a Gun", which were debuted live prior to recording the album during the Out of Exile tour.

Reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic60/100 [11]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[12]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[14]
PopMatters[15]
Q (#243, Oct. 2006, p. 127)
Rolling Stone[16]
The Skinny[17]
Slant[18]

Revelations entered the Billboard 200 at the number two spot with 150,631 copies. The album has sold nearly one million copies worldwide. The album has been certified gold in the US for shipments of 500,000, in Canada for shipments of 50,000, in Australia for shipments of 35,000 (first week), and in New Zealand for shipments of 7,500 (first week). The first two singles were "Original Fire" and "Revelations".

When marketing for the album, the band had the fictional nation dubbed 'Audioslave Nation' shown on the album art featured on Google Earth.[20] Prior to the album's release, the title track appeared in the video game Madden NFL 2007. The songs "Wide Awake" and "Shape of Things to Come" were prominently featured in Michael Mann's 2006 film, Miami Vice, prior to the release of the album.

On July 3, 2006, a private listening party was held for fan club members and non-fan club contest winners. The album gained a strong fan review, noting a darker tone, and anthemic choruses. The album received mixed reviews, gaining a 60 out of 100 metascore at Metacritic based on 15 reviews.[16] Rolling Stone wrote: "Most of these twelve tracks are impressive structures with periodic highs... that never resolve into songs."

Track listing

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

No.TitleLength
1."Revelations"4:12
2."One and the Same"3:38
3."Sound of a Gun"4:20
4."Until We Fall"3:50
5."Original Fire"3:38
6."Broken City"3:48
7."Somedays"3:33
8."Shape of Things to Come"4:34
9."Jewel of the Summertime"3:53
10."Wide Awake"4:26
11."Nothing Left to Say but Goodbye"3:32
12."Moth"4:57
Total length:48:28
Best Buy bonus disc (Japanese bonus tracks)
No.TitleLength
13."Set It Off" (Live at The Quart Festival)4:25
14."Doesn't Remind Me" (Live at The Quart Festival)4:50
15."Gasoline" (Live at The Quart Festival)5:34
16."Out Of Exile" (Live at The Quart Festival)5:04
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Show Me How to Live" (Live at The Quart Festival)5:02

Special Edition DVD

A special edition of the album includes an 18-minute DVD featuring interviews with the band members on their thoughts on the album.

Note

  • In the song "Sound of a Gun", a melody line can be heard in the background during the bridge that is also in the song "Drown Me Slowly" from their 2005 album 'Out of Exile'.

Personnel
Audioslave
Production
Artwork
  • Brandy Flower - Art Direction
  • P.R. Brown - Cover Art
  • Danny Clinch - Band photography

Chart positions

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[45] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[46] Gold 7,500^
United States (RIAA)[47] Gold 500,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[48] Silver 60,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References
  1. "Blabbermouth.net - AUDIOSLAVE Guitarist On New CD: 'If You Want Your Ass Kicked, You've Come To The Right Place'". Blabbermouth.net. March 31, 2006. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  2. Rogulewski, Charley (April 27, 2006). "Tom Morello Swings His Hammer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  3. Harris, Chris (March 31, 2006). "MTV News - New Audioslave LP: 'Led Zeppelin Meets Earth, Wind & Fire'". MTV. Retrieved May 15, 2007.
  4. Reuters (September 13, 2006). "Audioslave ponders perils of success". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
  5. "Audioslave Frontman Cleans Up His Act For 'Revelations'". Blabbermouth.net. August 26, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  6. "Slaves To The Music'". The Age. Australia. August 25, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  7. Songfacts. "Moth by Audioslave - Songfacts". www.songfacts.com.
  8. Harris, Chris (July 26, 2006). "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP—But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split". MTV. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  9. Harris, Chris. "Chris Cornell Talks Audioslave Split, Nixes Soundgarden Reunion". MTV News. Retrieved October 19, 2008.
  10. "Video interview with Tom Morello". Toazted. 2007. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2007.
  11. "Revelations by Audioslave" – via www.metacritic.com.
  12. "Revelations - Audioslave". Allmusic.
  13. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857125958. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  14. Pastorek, Whitney (September 8, 2006). "Revelations Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  15. "Audioslave: Revelations". PopMatters.
  16. "Metacritic - Revelations by Audioslave". Metacritic.
  17. "The Skinny - Audioslave -- Revelations". The Skinny. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006.
  18. "Audioslave: Revelations". Slant. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  19. "Audioslave's Chris Cornell Says He's Still Got The 'Original Fire'". Blabbermouth.net. August 3, 2006. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
  20. "Come to Audioslave Nation!". Audioslave.com. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  21. "Australiancharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  22. "Austriancharts.at – Audioslave – Revelations" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  23. "Ultratop.be – Audioslave – Revelations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  24. "Ultratop.be – Audioslave – Revelations" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  25. "Audioslave Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  26. "Danishcharts.dk – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Audioslave – Revelations" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  28. "Audioslave: Revelations" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  29. "Lescharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  30. "Offiziellecharts.de – Audioslave – Revelations" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  31. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Audioslave". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  32. "Italiancharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  33. "Charts.nz – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  35. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  36. "Portuguesecharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  37. "Spanishcharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  38. "Swedishcharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  39. "Swisscharts.com – Audioslave – Revelations". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  40. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  41. "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  42. "Audioslave Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  43. "Audioslave Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  44. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  45. "Canadian album certifications – Audioslave – Revelations". Music Canada. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
  46. "New Zealand album certifications – Audioslave – Revelations". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  47. "American album certifications – Audioslave – Revelations". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 28, 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
  48. "British album certifications – Audioslave – Revelations". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 28, 2018. Select albums in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Revelations in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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