Drummer Brad Wilk explained: "Audioslave the band has arrived. The first record was people from two other bands with history attached. I don't feel that with this record." Chris Cornell admitted to writing his most personal songs ever on this album, influenced by the positive changes in his life since 2002. He also described the album as more varied than the debut and relying less on heavy guitar riffs. On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba. Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform a concert in Cuba, playing in front of an audience of 70,000. The band traveled to Havana on May 4 to interact with Cuban musicians. Cornell commented: "Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries." The 26-song set concert was the longest the band had ever played. Many songs from Out of Exile were performed at the concert, held three weeks prior to the release date, making these the first live performances of the tracks from this album. The concert was documented on the Live in Cuba DVD released in October of the same year. The songs "Your Time Has Come" and "Man or Animal" were featured on 2006's racing video gameFlatOut 2.
Critical reception
Critical response was mostly warm, highlighting the fact that the band was working towards defining its own sound, as opposed to just Rage Against the Machine fronted by Cornell. Critics initially described Audioslave as an amalgamation of Rage Against the Machine and Soundgarden, but by the band's second album, Out of Exile, noted that they had established a separate identity. The album was received more favorably than Audioslave's debut; critics noted Cornell's stronger vocals, likely the result of quitting smoking and drinking, and pointed out that Out of Exile is "the sound of a band coming into its own." Allmusic praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable." The lyrics, however, were still a common complaint; musicOMH.com wrote that Cornell's lyrics "continue to border on the ridiculous." The album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.
Commercial performance
Out of Exile was released in May 2005 and debuted at number one on the U.S. charts with 263,000 equivalent album units, thus being the best selling album in the first week of Audioslave's release. The album has since gone on to achieve platinum status.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Chris Cornell; all music composed by Audioslave. Note
In the song "Drown Me Slowly", a melody line can be heard in the background during the bridge that is also in the song "Sound of a Gun" from their 2006 album 'Revelations'.
