Chris Cornell Quits Audioslave, Nixes Soundgarden Reunion, Goes Solo

February 16, 2007

The surviving fans of grunge have been dealt another devastating blow: singer Chris Cornell has quit supergroup Audioslave — and, no, he’s not going to reunite Soundgarden, either.

“Due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences, I am permanently leaving the band Audioslave," he said in a statement. "I wish the other three members nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors."

Speaking with MTV, the gravel-voiced singer explained the split was a typical “it’s not you; it’s me” affair.

"It was clear to all of us we needed some time apart, and what that produces is anybody's guess," he tells MTV. "In my case, it produced a very prolific writing period, and getting back into writing songs on my own, liking what that means — which is sort of a freedom and time to just experiment with music to a degree I kind of like more — and making records that have everything I like about music in them. Audioslave was a very fresh collaboration because it was very much like a young band, where you all write together in a room. But my experience, in terms of songwriting and record-creating, is not like a 19-year-old guy in a rock band. For me to be satisfied, I think I need to be able to be on my own, in the long run."

Fellow Audioslave bandmates, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, recently announced they will be reuniting their original band, Rage Against the Machine, for this year’s Coachella. Cornell says he’s happy to see them betting back to their visceral roots while he explores solo.

"I certainly don't have any animosity toward them, and I don't think anyone hates me," he tells MTV. "And to be honest, I think those guys getting back and doing some Rage shows is great. ... There were times in Audioslave where I wondered whether those guys missed the visceral nature of the audience response that Rage would get. We had a different experience and a different crowd, but it was so specific to Rage, that kind of world that they were in, that I often wondered if they missed it."

But any grungers holding out hope for a Soundgarden reunion are sadly out of luck. Cornell says the band is happy how things ended, they had no unfinished business and that reuniting is not something they need to do. Still, all is not lost for Cornell cronies: in the same statement in which he announced the Audioslave split, Cornell also released details of his forthcoming solo album, Carry On, due out May 1, which will feature his cover of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” as well as “You Know My Name,” the title song Cornell did for the latest James Bond movie.