12 No-Skip Hard Rock Albums
3. Audioslave - Out Of Exile
Combining the musicality of Rage Against The Machine with the vocal delight of Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell, the supergroup Audioslave delivered a lot in such a short space of time.
After a decent outing in their eponymous debut, Audioslave continued to explore with their second effort, Out of Exile, and this is packed with Hard Rock reverence from start to finish.
Tom Morello’s distinctive Soul Power kicks off the album, and Your Time Has Come is a sophisticated single demonstrating the band’s progression.
The following track, Out of Exile, is a perfect fusion of Rage’s funk sound and Cornell’s vocal soul as it gets ‘sent away.’
The band tries their hand at a Rock Pop ballad with Be Yourself, which remains the band’s most well-known song. Be Yourself made it to Number One in the US and receives a lot of radio play to this day.
The fun lyrics of Doesn’t Remind Me flow well into an upbeat chorus, whereas Drown Me Slowly shows off Cornell’s range in a 70s nostalgia trip.
The mood is brought down with Heaven’s Dead, and the wah heavy The Worm is a groovy head-nodder with an earlier Rage Against The Machine sound.
Man or Animal packs a Punky punch, while Yesterday to Tomorrow is a ballad with a positive outlook.
Dandelion is a bright, summery sound which is further uplifted by Cornell’s warm vocalisation. This is one of Audioslave’s often overlooked classics.
Morello’s experimental siren sound is present in #1 Zero, and the album closes with a sonic crescendo in The Curse.