Resurgent Rage Means Adios to Audioslave

by Stephen Tringali

It looks like some of the wishes I expressed in “Rage, Reunion & Revolution” have been granted. Chris Cornell announced his departure from Audioslave late last week, effectively dissolving the band.

Though the remaining members have yet to announce their official breakup, it’s pretty much inevitable at this point. Audioslave doesn’t exist without Cornell just as Rage Against the Machine didn’t exist without Zach de la Rocha. Cornell’s exit opens the door for a full-fledged Rage reunion following the Coachella Music & Arts Festival.

Anything’s possible now. The band could take their message on the road for a nation-wide tour. They could even record a new album, not quite better than their debut but still good enough to be on par with The Battle of Los Angeles. Of course, they’d finish up the tour with a surprise performance in Washington D.C., staging an all-night protest concert on the Mall.

What better way to let President George W. Bush know what’s wrong than by blasting political rap-rock right on his front lawn? Perhaps other bands might even join them. It could be the Vote For Change tour all over again — except that it would actually accomplish something.

But I digress into musical fantasy. None of this will likely happen. And if it does, well, it probably won’t have the impact imagined. Always the idealists, musicians rarely pull through with their intentions. If they’re political in nature, that is.

Cornell’s announcement came with a press release touting his upcoming solo album, Carry On. Kind of an ironic title, isn’t it? It’s almost as though he recorded it — or at the very least, titled it — knowing that Audioslave would be over before its release. If anyone cares to listen, Cornell’s new album will be out May 1.

I know I won’t be listening.

(Promotional photo of Audioslave from Epic Records. To see Audioslave perform "Cochise" at their historic performance in Havana, Cuba in 2005, please check below.)



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