Last week I was flicking through a copy of a UK music mag when I came across a picture of a bloke with tip-bleached, black, spiky hair wearing a pink vest and posing like a Westlife pretty boy in front of the camera. Once the laughter had subsided, I realised, to my horror, that the man in the pink was none other that Soundgarden guru Chris Cornell flaunting his new image with Audioslave: the (supposed) supergroup forged by Cornell and the remnants of the now defunct Rage Against The Machine. Clearly, having a shit name is not the only problem the quartet face.

Having given the record a good airing, I’ve come to the conclusion that the concern augured by the above image was not without foundation. RATM may have been responsible for some of the greatest records of all time (Euphoria Morning, Killing In The Name, Rage Against The Machine and Superunknown), but the new quartet’s chemistry is null and void, resulting in a dated and, at times, painful collection, of stuff that wouldn’t have made it onto a Soundgarden B side in a million years.

There are a few mediocre moments (which, considering the context, sound a lot better than they should), namely the gentle, melodically evocative ‘Shadow On The Sun’, although even that is seriously debilitated by it’s cheez-o-riff chorus, and ‘I Am The Highway’ is kinda alright, in an AOR, inspired-Nickelback, sort of way.

As you can see, I remain entirely unconvinced, and more than a little disappointed.