I'm still trying to figure it
out.
Rage Against The Machine wasn't
just a band, they were a sizzling hot branding iron across the ass
of a stagnant rock scene caught in an "alternative" rut.
They were a band with such a deep groove that I felt like it
was digging a moat around me, and encapsulating my emotions whenever
I heard it. Did I expect guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim
Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk to hire new singer Chris
Cornell and continue with that same intensity? In many ways I did.
Cornell is one of the most talented singers in the world. There
was no reason to believe that his contributions would do anything
but enhance an already powerful machine. So why do I nearly vomit
when I hear songs like "Doesn't Remind Me" from this release? I
guess I didn't expect the groove and "in-your-face"
intensity to take a backseat to the bouncy hayride that is this
song. Now, this is a song that reminds me of Soundgarden's "Mind
Riot" from their "Badmotorfinger" release - a song in which I like.
But, what's good for the goose is not always necessarily good for
the gander. Just because you like tomatoes, doesn't mean you're
going to like ketchup. I might expect a song like this from
Soundgarden, but it's a disappointment coming from
Audioslave.
Audioslave has brought together
four of the most talented musicians in the world. Between Tom
Morello's inventive guitar playing, a rhythm section like no other,
and a singer that can only be compared with a small handful -
Audioslave has the weapons to create another musical revolution.
Instead, the band goes through the motions of being just another
good rock band. It is just so frustrating to hear this group doing
songs like the aforementioned "Doesn't Remind Me," "Heaven's Dead,"
or even the hit single "Be Yourself." These are all decent songs,
but they are songs that come nowhere close to tapping into the core
of this band's talent. I mean, any good band in the genre could cut
tunes like these - Seether.....Incubus.....Foo Fighters, you name
the decent band and they are all cutting tunes this good. But this
is not a decent band, or even a good band - these guys are
way beyond all that. They
are amazing. Phenomenal even. Or, ...at least they
should be. Nothing off this release succeeds in punching my
lights out though. Why is that? Well, it's something that I've seen
happen before. Take a band like Journey. A band that was making
intelligent, progressive, guitar-based
music that women hated. Steve Perry comes in and they make
radio friendly chick songs for lots of dough.
Genesis........Peter Gabriel builds a dark and
beautiful, theatrical art rock vehicle, only to have his
drummer take the mic and drive them into a Land Of
Confusion......again, for lots of dough. Why should Audioslave
be any different? Granted, Chris Cornell is a million times the
singer that former Rage frontman Zach De La Rocha was. Cornell is a
pure, genuine, trained voice that can amaze - Zach was a screamer.
But what it comes down to is this: Pavarotti is a bit more of a
singer than James Hetfield, but I don't want him fronting
Metallica. You know what I mean?
I'm not going to tell you that
this thing stinks, because it doesn't. I just wanted to be
supercharged. I wanted my fists to control the rest of my body. I
wanted that Rage groove to carve a hole straight through my heart. I
wanted to hear the slightly out-of-control, unorthodox screeching
and screaming of Morello's instrument. Other than a few sparks, none
of that happened for me here. Songs like "Your Time Has Come,"
"Drown Me Slowly," and "The Worm" provided some hip spasms and
head bobbing; and, the title track almost caused me to actually
thrash around my living room. So, things are not a total loss,
but they never get anywhere near the greatness that could have been
achieved. I think it was Tom Morello that wanted to make it clear
when this band got together that it wasn't just Rage Against The
Machine with a different singer, and I really had trouble seeing it
any different, ...until now. This is definitely not Rage Against The
Machine, but it may qualify as Soundgarden with a different
guitarist and rhythm section. I hear a lot of you saying, "Why can't
he just see them as Audioslave and stop comparing them to their
former bands?" Well, I'm going to start doing just that. I will
group them together with all of the other twenty million average
bands of the genre, and throw this one in the cut out bin.
Why keep hanging out for these guys to make something amazing
happen just because I'm familiar with all of their names. It's time
for me to give up hope on these guys and start looking for a Zach De
La Rocha album to save me.
OVERALL RATING: 5
