Day 3 - Audioslave - Revelations

I was surprised to find a pretty cool music video, viewable here.

I remember when Audioslave came along, and everybody was all freaking out because it wasn't Rage, and it wasn't Soundgarden. Well, obviously. So we got used to it. And as soon as they finally got their act together and developed a consistent sound, that was it. They pulled the plug on us. Somehow, Chris Cornell covering Michael Jackson, trying in futility to rock my ass, or any of his other experiments in boredom just don't stir my tea like this does. At least the prospect of Rage returning is exciting. In any case, this is probably the best track Audioslave ever produced. A lot of their songs are contenders, but this has everything I want from a piece of music. The deceptively quiet intro is perfectly appropriate, but nothing to rave about. I believe it's just the chorus chords. We're better served by those later on. In any case, this riff is just monstrous. It's huge and powerful. It's hard rock. It's not metal. This is where the line is drawn. Right around this song. It's just hard enough not to bother me. It's also funky as hell. Funk-rock is a good sound. I don't know why they didn't embrace it sooner. The verse is your basic hard rock verse. It's not exciting, but it really does its job in the song. The chorus is obviously very different from the riff, but has equal hook value. You say, which one is the hook? I don't know. They're both so good! Chris's talent for layering vocals shines here. The guitar solo is surprisingly tasteful, especially for a Tom Morello solo. I might have preferred bendier blues-based stuff or something a bit more energetic, but I don't think you can really ever leave the dark side once you've chosen to go there. I guess he uses his signature toggle-switch magic on this one. The bridge is very bridgy. A perfect rock bridge. It's quiet, and this is hard rock, so you know a rebuild is coming. Ah, and there is Brad Wilk, rock's king of the snare drum crescendo, over some tense chords to prepare us for more rocking. And some more chorus. Well-planed, and very well-executed. Four heads are better than one, Chris. Idiot.