Audioslave Out Of Exile Views

General Goods

Out of Exile is the second studio album by the American rock supergroup Audioslave, first released on May 23, 2005 internationally and a day later in the United States. It is the band's only number one album on the Billboard 200. Four singles were released: Be Yourself , Your Time Has Come , Doesn't Remind Me , and Out of Exile . Doesn't Remind Me was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2006 Grammy Awards.

On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba.[4] Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000.[5] The band traveled to Havana on May 4 to interact with Cuban musicians.[6] Cornell commented: Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries. The 26-song set concert was the longest the band had ever played.[7] Many songs from Out of Exile were performed at the concert, held three weeks prior to the release date, making these the first live performances of the tracks from this album. The concert was documented on the Live in Cuba DVD released in October of the same year.

Critical response was mostly warm, highlighting the fact that the band was working towards defining its own sound, as opposed to just Rage Against the Machine fronted by Cornell. Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden,[8] but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, noted that they had established a separate identity. The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking,[9] and pointed out that Out of Exile is the sound of a band coming into its own. [10] Allmusic praised the album as lean, hard, strong, and memorable. [11] The lyrics, however, were still a common complaint; musicOMH.com wrote that Cornell's lyrics continue to border on the ridiculous. [12] The album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.

Unfortunately, initial impressions of Out Of Exile were diametrically opposite to those of its predecessor. One spin of the disc revealed no stand-out tracks and what seemed like a multitude of sins. Thank the Lord that I listened to Out Of Exile again, else I may well have made a fool of myself and wanted to be swallowed by a black hole (sun)...