MY VIEW
'Out of Exile' by Audioslave

By Jeremy Castillo
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Released: May 24

Style: Rock

My view: When wannabe iconoclast Zach de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine in 2000, a band that'll always be remembered for playing outside the Democratic National Convention that same year, remaining band members Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk and Tom Morello were left without a lead singer. Rumors that former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell joined the band turned out to be true in 2001. Thus begat Audioslave.

In 2002, after a year in the studio, the band released its first, self-titled album. With Cornell's leadership and talent for songwriting, as well as the others' musicianship, which was always overshadowed in their Rage days in favor of de la Roach's political agenda, Audioslave churned out some of the purest rock music to be released in this decade. While the most successful single "Like a Stone" is a brooding tale of uncertainty with oneself and the redeeming qualities of love, other songs were hard, fast, raw and punishing.

On "Out of Exile," its new album, the band comes together quite nicely to form a more cohesive unit; that hefty reservoir of potential the band was sitting on while recording in 2001 explodes here.

The first single is "Be Yourself," a song similar to "Like a Stone" with its quiet, brooding style that focuses more on lyrical content than music. Of course, the content of the lyrics is different; "Be Yourself" has a message of confidence and self-esteem, which Cornell could have written to be the answer to "Like a Stone." Other songs follow the same contexts Cornell used to write songs on the first album: love going well, love gone bad, self-assurance and God.

Other songs are some of Cornell's best work in years, possibly ever. The ballads here have drama and tension bleeding through the speakers — and then there's a surprise, a poppy gem titled "Dandelion." It is clear that Cornell is leading the band into a more musical world than it's experienced before. Guitarist Tom Morello seems to be most influenced by this; he really goes all out on this album to show off how much his approach has changed from his Rage days, maybe even from the recording sessions of the first album.

Supergroups — bands with members from previously established bands — have a stigma of not being able to make it past one record. Audioslave seemed to head toward that route, as Cornell quit the band in 2001 because he felt the project wasn't going anywhere; obviously he reconsidered. It's a good thing he did, because the world would miss out on one of the truly great rock bands of the decade.

Jeremy Castillo is a student at Windward Community College.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.