Audioslave — Out Of Exile

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" seems to be the modus operandi for Chris Cornell and company on Audioslave's second disc. The former members of Rage Against The Machine and Soundgarden once again pile big bass lines and bigger guitar melodies over droning post-grunge vocals that seem fixated on repeating the song's title over and over again. Even the tunes' patterns are predictable — the soft-loud-soft riffage of "Drown Me Slowly," the more laid-back "Heaven's Dead" and the Zeppelin-esque "The Worm." Not a bad effort, but given the band members' pedigrees, this should have been their chance to explore new territory rather than simply rehash old themes.

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