Out of Exile is the second studio album by American rock supergroup 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 album spawned the singles "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.

Background

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. The songs "Your Time Has Come" and "Man or Animal" were featured in the 2006 racing video game FlatOut 2.

Reception

Critical

Critical response to the album was mostly warm, with many reviews highlighting the fact that the band was beginning to establish its own identity, as opposed to just being Rage Against the Machine fronted by Cornell, which is how some critics described the sound of their first album. Improvement was noted in the quality of Cornell's vocals, likely the result of him quitting smoking and drinking. Slant Magazine said Out of Exile had "the sound of a band coming into its own", and Allmusic praised the album as "lean, hard, strong, and memorable." The lyrics, however, were still a common complaint, with musicOMH.com writing 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

Out of Exile was released in the United States on May 24, 2005. It 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.

Track listing

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

Personnel

Audioslave Production and design

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications