Audioslave Style

Hi GMC!

Welcome to my new lesson based on the style of the super group Audioslave, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2001 and disbanded in 2007. The band consisted of former Soundgarden lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell, and former Rage Against the Machine members Tom Morello (lead guitar), Tim Commerford (bass/backing vocals), and Brad Wilk (drums).

Music Style:
The band was a perfect mix between Rage Against the machine and Soundgarden. The band took the groove mid tempo classic rock riff based on amazing guitar ideas that included influences from classic bands like Led Zeppelin and also from Jimi Hendrix. In this composition, I've tried to recreate all those aspects in a tune that includes all the parts that form a song. The main riff has a vibe very close to their biggest hits "Cochise", "Show me how to live" and "Son of a Gun" and it's also used as the chorus for the tune. The bridge/part C reflects Cornell's way of creating melodies and progressions and that can be found more developed in THIS lesson.


Tonality, Chord Progression & Scales:
This lesson is in E minor key. The main riff is based on E blues scale and the verse in E aeolian mode. Then, the part C or bridge incorporate 1 chord borrowed from parallel tonality.

Techniques:
This is mostly a rhythm lesson that requires a good control of groove and muting. The riff combines single string notes, with muted strums, power chords and a bluesy lick. It can be tricky at first so take your time to learn each segment before combining everything.

Sound:
I used LePoin plugins to create the guitar tone. These are free amp emulators that are extremely recommended. The cabinet used for this guitar tone is HyBrit which is a Marshall amp emulation. Check out the settings:




The lead guitar also has phaser effect:



Tuning: Drop D (DADGBE) tuning

New to drop D? Check out this lesson: LINK

Tempo: 95 BPM