Tom Morello Working on First Solo Rock Album: "The Idea is That This is the Hendrix of Now"

Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello is making his first solo rock album.

Morello recently told Billboard that his recent tour with Bruce Springsteen (and contributions to Springsteen's new album, High Hopes) has inspired him to rock out on his own.

Morello told the publication that his recent work with Springsteen encouraged him to move beyond the folk vein of his other solo endeavor as the Nightwatchman.

"The first time I ever sang with an electric guitar in my hands was 'The Ghost of Tom Joad' [with Springsteen] at the Anaheim Pond in 2008," Morello told Billboard. "Until then I'd kept my folksinging career and my electric guitar shredding career completely separate. It was on that stage that I realized there might be a way to combine all the things I do as a songwriter and a guitar player, and this record is going to be that."

The 2008 Anaheim show led to the guitarist taking Steven Van Zandt's place on the E Street Band's Australian tour. That led to Morello being involved with recent Springsteen sessions, and he plays on eight High Hopes tracks. The album will be released Janurary 14.

"I want to make the craziest guitar record that anyone's ever heard," Morello said. "The idea is that this is the Hendrix of now." He added that he has a large group of songs for the solo album already written, and he plans to record them after the tour with Springsteen ends March 2.