Having been birthed from the ashes of the incomparable Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave had some high expectations to live up to. Claims of Audioslave trying to be a recapitated Rage have been oddly persistent following their first two albums, Audioslave and Out of Exile, as even a quick listen makes it clear that the two bands sound very little alike. Assertions of imitation notwithstanding, the real issue critics were probably dealing with was that for a band including 75 percent of one of the '90s' seminal acts, Audioslave just weren't that good. On their new album, Revelations, Audioslave do more Rage-like things than ever. And the ironic thing is, it's their best album yet because of it.
When ""the anti-myth rhythm rock shocker"" Zack de la Rocha left Rage in 2000 and took his one-of-a-kind militant poetry with him, the three remaining members didn't try to replace him. They turned to former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, who joined the band only after he was assured that Audioslave would never have to record a political song. This founding principle is broken for the first time on Revelations, with the Hurricane Katrina-influenced ""Wide Awake."" In his characteristically off-key rasp, Cornell criticizes President Bush and the other powers-that-be, singing, ""I find you guilty of the crime / Of sleeping at a time / When you should have been wide awake."" Saying de la Rocha wrote political lyrics better is like saying the Pope is Catholic, but this allows a level of passion to creep into Audioslave's music that wasn't heard before.
Audioslave's newfound grand scope doesn't manifest itself only through explicit politics, though. Bassist Tim Commerford, drummer Brad Wilk and guitar virtuoso Tom Morello create epic, emotional soundscapes that call to mind Zeppelin and Achtung Baby-era U2 on tracks like ""Until We Fall"" and ""Shape of Things to Come,"" far from the crunching, hard-driving focus of Rage. But there's still a few touches of that, too, particularly on the funky, ""Renegades of Funk""-style call to arms ""Original Fire.""
If there's a disappointment on this album, it's Morello, who, after violating every orifice of his guitars with Phillips wrenches, amp jacks and his double-pickup ""kill switch,"" seems to be running out of ideas. Most Audioslave songs use the traditional verse-chorus-verse-chorus-SOLO! template, and on Revelations Morello sounds like he's struggling to find inspiration. His solos are as technically impressive as ever, but several times his solos fail to incorporate themselves appropriately into the flow of the song. He is, however, showing impressive skill at coming up with new, earthier kinds of riffs, such as that on the moving ""Until We Fall.""
By breaking down self-imposed barriers meant to make sure they didn't sound too much like Rage, Audioslave have actually established their own voice more firmly. Revelations is a superb rock album.
One last thing to mention is that, if this band can do anything, they sure can make an awesome album cover. The cover of Revelations, like that of their other albums, is incredibly simple and beautiful at the same time. Apparently, you don't come out of Rage Against the Machine without knowing a thing or two about good propaganda.
