| A Rage LegacyFirst CDThe new-old Nirvana music is hitting stores, Pearl Jam have a new album, and the early-Nineties revival seems to be close to achieving critical mass. Enter Audioslave, a supergroup fusion of Rage Against the Machine with Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell. On first listen to this blend of rap, rock and roil, the alt-rock gene seems to have won the day. One key track is "Exploder," where stinging, whiplash riffs betray a link between Soundgarden and Rage that nobody noticed: They both thought Led Zeppelin were a funk band. If angst-shattering catharsis is what you're after, "Light My Way," which ricochets and recoils like a ball-peen-hammer party in your parents' bedroom, will do the trick. There's even something for the ladies: "I Am the Highway" is a genuine pretty power ballad -- this isn't the return of alt-rock, it's the last revenge of testicle-grabbing, limo-ridin', Gibson-guitar-hero hair metal. It's a pretty tune, but also pretty hard to take seriously after |
