When Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine in October 2000, the band's future was put into question. Within months rumors flew that ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell would replace de la Rocha. And gossip fueled truth, for Cornell joined the rest of Rage in the studio in May 2001. The mix was great and a musical bond was in the making: Cornell, Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk, and Tom Morello spent the next year writing and recording. By spring 2002, the foursome were no longer going by the Rage Against the Machine name and signed on for Ozzfest. But before the summer tour even got underway, Cornell quit the new project. He claimed it wasn't moving forward in the direction he'd hoped for. The breakdown didn't last, for Cornell rejoined by early fall. After tossing around the idea of being called Civilian, they settled on Audioslave. The single Cochise, named for the great American Indian chief who died free and unconquered, hit radio in September 2002, and Audioslave's Epic full-length was released that November.

The album eventually went multi-platinum on the strength of Cochise and the moody rocker Like a Stone, and Audioslave supported it with gigs that included 2003 Lollapalooza dates. Cornell, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford returned in May 2005 with Out of Exile. That same month they played an historic show in Havana, Cuba that marked that country's first outdoor show by an American rock band.

READ MORE INFO