Audioslave reunited for the first time in more than a decade on January 20 for an Anti-Inaugural Ball performance at the Teragram Ballroom in Los Angeles.
Clips of the band performing their hits “Cochise,” “Like a Stone” and “Show Me How to Live” are streaming below.
The hard-rock act rose to power in the 2000s in the aftermath of Rage Against the Machine and features Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell and former Rage members Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Morello, Commerford and Wilk currently perform together with Prophets of Rage, featuring Public Enemy members DJ Lord and rapper Chuck D and Cypress Hill rapper B-Real. Prophets of Rage served as the night’s headliner.
The Audioslave reunion was launched to protest the U.S. presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, which also took place on Friday.
“The Anti-Inaugural Ball is a celebration of resistance,” reads a band statement. “Resistance to racism. Resistance to sexism. Resistance to homophobia. Resistance to bullying. Resistance to environmental devastation. Resistance to fascism. Resistance to Donald Trump.
“We are staring down the barrel of a dystopian nightmare unless we act NOW, unless we fight back NOW. We intend to create ‘No Trump Zones’ across the country; in our homes, our schools, our places of work, and our concert stages. Bad Presidents make for great music. Join us as we get loud and stand together to defend our rights, our country, and our planet.”
Audioslave were joined by rapper Vic Mensa, Jackson Browne, Jack Black and the Los Angeles Freedom Choir.
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The band has not indicated if the reunion will last beyond Friday night’s show. Both Cornell and Morello have indicated they want to revive the group but are involved in other projects. Cornell is currently recording a new Soundgarden album and working with Commerford’s band, WAKRAT.
Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.
