2002 at Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA; Royaltone Studios, Burbank, CA; Studio Litho, Seattle, WA; Studio K, Seattle, WA; Akadamie Mathematique of Philosophical Sound Research, Los Angeles, CA
Songs from the album were first heard when thirteen rough rehearsal demo tracks were leaked onto various peer-to-peer filesharing networks on May 16, six months before the official release of the album, under the name "Civilian" (or "The Civilian Project").[1] According to guitarist Tom Morello "it was very frustrating, especially with a band like this, there is a certain amount of expectation."[2] He also said that the songs were not in their finished form and that in some cases "they weren't even the same lyrics, guitar solos, performances of any kind."[2] In an earlier, July 2002 interview with Metal sludge he spoke more explicitly about the incident, blaming "some jackass intern at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle" for stealing the demos and putting them on the Internet without the band's permission.[3] The album was released on November 19, 2002 and entered the Billboard 200 chart at position number seven after selling 162,000 copies in its first week.[4] It was certified gold by the RIAA less than a month after its release,[5] and by 2006 it had achieved triple platinum selling status.[6] It is the most successful Audioslave album to date, having sold more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. Despite its commercial success, Audioslave received mixed reviews. Some critics lambasted the group's effort as uninspired,[7] and predictable.[8]Pitchfork Media's reviewers Chris Dahlen and Ryan Schreiber praised Cornell's voice, but criticized virtually every other part of the album, calling it "the worst kind of studio rock album, rigorously controlled-- even undercut-- by studio gimmickry." They described Cornell's lyrics as "complete gibberish" and called producer Rick Rubin's work "a synthesized rock-like product that emits no heat."[9] Jon Monks from Stylus Magazine had the same opinion. He considered Rubin's production over-polished and wrote that "lacking individuality, distinction and imagination this album is over-produced, overlong and over-indulgent."[10] On the other hand, other critics praised the supergroup's style reminiscent of 1970s heavy metal and compared it to Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath,[11][12] saying they add much-needed sound and style to contemporary mainstream rock music,[13] and have the potential to become one of the best rock bands of the 21st century.[14]
For a limited time the CD could be inserted into a a CD-ROM and be used to access the ConnecteD website. Here, the user would be able to download bonus videos, interviews, photos, and a bonus track "Give".
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This album was released just over ten years after Rage Against The Machine's (Morello, Commerford, and Wilk's former band) debut was released (November 31992).
Covers are made by Storm Thorgerson, who, as leader of the group of artists known as Hipgnosis, may have been best known for his cover work for Pink Floyd.
"Shadow on the Sun" is also featured in a cutscene from World In Conflict where Marines and Army Ranger helicopters are shot down trying to retake Governors Island.
