Revelations (Audioslave album)

Revelations
Studio album by Audioslave
Released	September 5, 2006
Recorded	October 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia; January 2006 at Henson Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Genre	Hard rock, funk rock, alternative rock
Length	48:28
Label	Epic (non-US), Interscope (US) 8 2796-97728-2 9
Producer	Brendan O'Brien
Audioslave chronology
Out of Exile (2005) Revelations (2006)
Singles from Revelations
"Original Fire" Released: August 28, 2006 "Revelations" Released: 2007

Revelations is the third and final studio album by the American rock supergroup Audioslave. Lead vocalist Chris Cornell departed the band shortly after release in February 2007. The album was released on September 5, 2006 in the U.S., and a day earlier in the UK. Brendan O'Brien, who has produced or mixed the albums of numerous major rock acts of the past twenty years, including Soundgarden, Rage Against the Machine, Stone Temple Pilots, The Offspring, Pearl Jam, Incubus, and Bruce Springsteen, was at the helm for this record.

Background

Audioslave had 20 songs written (a few of which were sampled during their 2005 tour),^[1] and returned to the studio in early January 2006 to finish recording them. For Revelations, which was influenced by 1960s and 70s music, Cornell adopted his "seventies funk and R&B-flavor vocals."^[2] Guitarist Tom Morello described the sound as "Earth, Wind and Fire meets Led Zeppelin".^[3] Musically, the album is similar to Audioslave's previous album, but with a twist. The band incorporates soul and funk influences in many (if not all) of the songs on the album. Love, life and loss are all themes on the new album. Political activism is also starting to rear its head in Audioslave's music with songs such as "Wide Awake", which uses the Hurricane Katrina disaster and George W. Bush as subject matter.^[4]

Morello stated that Revelations was "the first record [Cornell] didn't smoke, drink or take drugs through the recording."^[5] However, Morello said: "Chris was stone sober during the making of our Out of Exile album. Chris was also sober during the making of Revelations and prior to recording he gave up smoking as well. I apologize for any confusion or concern that was stirred up by the original article. Sobriety can be a matter of life or death and Chris' courage in maintaining his health for years has been an inspiration."^[6]

Despite the exposure to other forms of media and the positive critical buzz for their third album, Audioslave did not tour behind the release. They went into hiatus to allow Cornell to complete "You Know My Name", the theme song for the 2006 James Bond film, Casino Royale, and Morello to pursue his own solo work under the moniker of The Nightwatchman.^[7] News about Cornell's departure emerged in July 2006, when insiders stated that after the third album he would split for a solo career. The singer immediately denied the rumors, stating "We hear rumors that Audioslave is breaking up all the time. ... I always just ignore [them]."^[7] On February 15, 2007, Cornell officially announced his departure from Audioslave, stating that "Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave. I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."^[8] As the other three members were busy with the Rage Against the Machine reunion, and Morello and Cornell had each released solo albums in 2007, Audioslave was officially disbanded.^[9]

Many of the tracks have not been performed live, as Cornell left the band in 2007. "One and the Same", "Wide Awake", and "Sound of a Gun" were played by the band during the Out of Exile tour, and Cornell performed alone recently acoustic versions from "Until We Fall", "Original Fire", and "Wide Awake". Lacking a lead vocalist and with the band's future in question, the remaining members have not toured in support of the album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]
PopMatters	[11]
Q	(#243, Oct. 2006, p. 127)
The Skinny	[12]
Slant	[13]

The band released Revelations in September 2006. Revelations entered the Billboard 200 at the number two spot with 150,631 copies. The album has sold nearly one million copies worldwide. The album has been certified gold in the US for shipments of 500,000, in Canada for shipments of 50,000, in Australia for shipments of 35,000 (first week), and in New Zealand for shipments of 7,500 (first week). The first two singles were "Original Fire" and "Revelations".

When marketing for the album, the band had the fictional nation dubbed Audioslave Nation shown on the album art featured on Google Earth.^[15] Prior to the album's release, the title track appeared in the video game Madden NFL 2007. The songs "Wide Awake" and "Shape of Things to Come" were prominently featured in Michael Mann's 2006 film, Miami Vice, prior to the release of the album.

On July 3, 2006, a private listening party was held for fan club members and non fan club contest winners. The album gained a strong fan review, noting a darker tone, and anthemic choruses. The album received mixed reviews, gaining a 60 out of 100 metascore at Metacritic based on 15 reviews.^[16] Rolling Stone wrote: "Most of these twelve tracks are impressive structures with periodic highs... that never resolve into songs." A number of reviewers also mentioned that the four members moved even further on the way to their mutation into a cohesive, unified rock band.

Track listing

All lyrics written by Chris Cornell; all music composed by Audioslave.

1. "Revelations" – 4:12
2. "One and the Same" – 3:38
3. "Sound of a Gun" – 4:20
4. "Until We Fall" – 3:50
5. "Original Fire" – 3:38
6. "Broken City" – 3:48
7. "Somedays" — 3:33
8. "Shape of Things to Come" – 4:34
9. "Jewel of the Summertime" – 3:53
10. "Wide Awake" – 4:26
11. "Nothing Left to Say But Goodbye" – 3:32
12. "Moth" – 4:57

iTunes bonus track

1. "Show Me How to Live (Live at The Quart Festival)" - 5:02

Best-Buy bonus disc (Japanese bonus tracks)

1. "Set It Off" (Live at The Quart Festival) – 4:25
2. "Doesn't Remind Me" (Live at The Quart Festival) – 4:50
3. "Gasoline" (Live at The Quart Festival) – 5:34
4. "Out Of Exile" (Live at The Quart Festival) – 5:04

Special Edition DVD

A special edition of the album includes an 18-minute DVD featuring interviews with the band members on their thoughts on the album.

Personnel

• Chris Cornell - vocals
• Tom Morello - guitar
• Tim Commerford - bass guitar/backing vocals
• Brad Wilk - drums
• Billy Bowers - Engineer
• P.R. Brown - Cover Art
• Danny Clinch - Photography
• Nick DiDia - Engineer
• Brandy Flower - Art Direction
• Pete Lewis - Band Technician
• Bob Ludwig - Mastering
• Brendan O'Brien - Producer
• Bobby Schneck - Band Technician
• Matt Serrechio - Assistant
• Tom Syrowski - Assistant

Chart positions

Album

Year	Album name	Chart	Position
2006	Revelations	The Billboard 200	2
		Top Canadian Albums	1
		Top Internet Albums	2
		UK Albums Chart	12
		Australian ARIA Albums Chart	1

Singles

Year	Track name	Chart	Position
2006	"Original Fire"	The Billboard Hot 100	79
		Mainstream Rock Tracks	4
		Modern Rock Tracks	3
	"Revelations"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
		Modern Rock Tracks	38

References

1. ^ "Blabbermouth.net - AUDIOSLAVE Guitarist On New CD: 'If You Want Your Ass Kicked, You've Come To The Right Place'". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-03-31. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=50408. Retrieved 2007-05-15. 
2. ^ Rogulewski, Charley (2006-04-27). "Tom Morello Swings His Hammer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2006-05-04. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20060504043332/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10146985/tom_morello_swings_his_hammer?rnd=1146173101411&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.872. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
3. ^ Harris, Chris (2006-03-31). "MTV News - New Audioslave LP: 'Led Zeppelin Meets Earth, Wind & Fire'". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1527383/20060329/audioslave.jhtml. Retrieved 2007-05-15. 
4. ^ Reuters (2006-09-13). "Audioslave ponders perils of success". Yahoo! Music. http://new.music.yahoo.com/audioslave/news/audioslave-ponders-perils-of-success--35684831. Retrieved 2009-09-26. 
5. ^ "Audioslave Frontman Cleans Up His Act For 'Revelations'". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-08-26. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=57170. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
6. ^ "Slaves To The Music'". The Age (Australia). 2006-08-25. http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/slaves-to-the-music/2006/08/24/1156012641945.html?page=2. Retrieved 2008-04-28. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Harris, Chris (2006-07-26). "Chris Cornell Working On Solo LP—But Dismisses Rumors Of Audioslave Split". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1537179/20060726/cornell_chris.jhtml?headlines=true. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
8. ^ Harris, Chris. "Chris Cornell Talks Audioslave Split, Nixes Soundgarden Reunion". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1552582/20070215/audioslave.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-10-19. 
9. ^ "Video interview with Tom Morello". Toazted. 2007. http://www.toazted.com/playinterview/2245/Video-interview-with-Tom-Morello-27.html. Retrieved 2007-08-20. 
10. ^ "Revelations - Audioslave". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r852473. 
11. ^ "Audioslave: Revelations". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/5112/audioslave-revelations/. 
12. ^ http://www.skinnymag.co.uk/content/view/2839/141/^{[dead link]}
13. ^ "Audioslave: Revelations". Slant. http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/music_review.asp?ID=958. 
14. ^ "Audioslave's Chris Cornell Says He's Still Got The 'Original Fire'". Blabbermouth.net. 2006-08-03. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=55995. Retrieved 2007-08-25. 
15. ^ "Come to Audioslave Nation!". Audioslave.com. http://www.audioslave.com/audioslavenation/. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
16. ^ "Metacritic - Revelations by Audioslave". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/audioslave/revelations?q=audioslave. 

Preceded by Modern Times by Bob Dylan

Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album September 11–17, 2006

Succeeded by FutureSex/LoveSounds by Justin Timberlake