Out of Exile is the second studio album by Audioslave, released on May 23, 2005, internationally, and a day later in the United States, through Epic Records and Interscope Records. It is the band’s only album to chart at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The band released 4 singles in support of their album: Be Yourself, Your Time Has Come, Doesn’t Remind Me, and Out of Exile; Doesn’t Remind Me was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 48th Grammy Awards. Out of Exile sold 263,000 album-equivalent units in its first week of release, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, indicating sales of a million units.
In an interview shortly before the release of the album, drummer Brad Wilk said:
“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.”
For his part, Chris Cornell said he wrote his most personal songs ever for the album, influenced by 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 4, 2005, the band traveled to Havana, Cuba, to spend some time interacting with Cuban musicians before playing a concert in the city on May 6. An audience of 70,000 attended the free show, and Audioslave became the first American rock group to perform in Cuba. At the time, Cornell said he hoped the concert would “help to open the musical borders between our two countries.” The 26 song set made the concert the longest the band had ever played. Many songs from Out of Exile were performed live for the first time at the concert, which was held three weeks prior to the release of the album. Live in Cuba, a concert documentary covering the band’s time in Cuba, was released on DVD in October 2005.
Tracklist:
- Your Time Has Come
- Out of Exile
- Be Yourself
- Doesn’t Remind Me
- Drown Me Slowly
- Heaven’s Dead
- The Worm
- Man or Animal
- Yesterday to Tomorrow
- Dandelion
- #1 Zero
- The Curse
UK bonus track - Like a Stone (live)
Japanese bonus tracks - Super Stupid (Funkadelic cover)
- Like a Stone (live)
Audioslave
Chris Cornell: lead vocals
Tom Morello: guitars
Tim Commerford: bass
Brad Wilk: drums
Production and design
Produced by Rick Rubin and Audioslave
Recorded by Brian Virtue, Thom Russo, and Jim Scott; Assisted by Jonny Polonsky, Jason Gossman, Dan Leffler, and Billy Mimes
Album Production Coordinator/Wrangler: Lindsay Chase
Mixed by Brendan O’Brien
Additional Engineering by Billy Bowers
Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
Album Cover by Antony Nagelmann
Art Direction by Robert Fisher
Photography by Ethan Russell
Pre-Production Engineering by Keith Simon
Chris Cornell (July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017).
