It is time for our Sunday piece, Presented with Comment, where each week Michael and Nicholas La Torre take a turn engaging in a debate over alt topics of interest and gauging the audience's views on the issues at hand. To do this, the authors will present examples to support their opinions and not only get the audience's view on the two sides presented, but seek feedback from the audience on alternatives as well.
Supergroups have always been a little weird to me. Sometimes, you get this amazing product from a group of
people who might have otherwise never played together before. Other times, you get garbage that each member didn't want to put out with their other bands. Perhaps it's more of the pet project feel, but when these folks get together, I want to see the very best from each member. There are many great supergroups from throughout the years, but I chose to select Audioslave as the best supergroup who consistently put out an amazing product throughout their shortened career.
Audioslave was created in 2001 in Los Angeles of Soundgarden Lead Singer Chris Cornell, and remaining members from Rage Against the Machine members, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk. Imagine the booming sounds of Rage Against the Machine with heavy guitars and effects with the stellar pipes of Chris Cornell.
Despite having most of the feel from each band, the group was able to come up with a distinct sound that was incredibly popular in the 2000s. The band was around for six years, released three albums, and sold more than 8 million records during their time together. Unlike many other supergroups, which is one of the reasons I chose them, Audioslave had an actual career together rather than some feature pieces they put together. This was actually the direction each member wanted to be a part of and put a ton of effort into the project. Most of these bandmates have worked with numerous acts, which you think might dilute their product together, but I think their music is better than some of the original works from these notable artists.
Audioslave's work was pretty heavily driven by politics and current events. Cornell had no interest in becoming another front man for Rage Against the Machine, arguably one of the most politically-driven acts of all time, but does have some heavy opinions on the daily ongoings of this country and makes them known. I believe Audioslave is not only the best alternative supergroup of memory, I believe they are one of the best supergroups of all time. At least in terms of well-rounded musical acts that are using their music to forward their careers, Audioslave has rewritten the manual on how to be a supergroup and many will follow throughout the years.