When Zack de la Rocha left Rage Against the Machine the band was at a crossroads of where to turn to next. Veteran producer Rick Rubin suggested the band reach out to Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden fame) to pursue an exploration of the two powerhouse bands together as a new one. Cornell originally was planning on writing some material for a solo project, but he found the opportunity to work with the rhythm section of Rage Against the Machine too tempting to pass up. Audioslave was born as Cornell took the opportunity to sing over some song structures the band had laid out for him to sing over. Guitarist Tom Morello recalls the first jam session in detail as he said, “”He stepped to the microphone and sang the song and I couldn’t believe it. It didn’t just sound good. It didn’t sound great. It sounded transcendent. And…when there is an irreplaceable chemistry from the first moment, you can’t deny it.” This unique combination of Rage and Soundgarden would lead to a self-titled debut album that would go on to sell over 3 million units in the U.S. alone and establish this band in the forefront of Alternative Rock radio for the better part of a decade.