Tom Morello discussed Audioslave reunion with Chris Cornell

Chris Cornell and Tom Morello at the Anti-Inaugural Ball in January this year
Chris Cornell and Tom Morello at the Anti-Inaugural Ball in January this year (Image credit: Getty)

Tom Morello says that he and Chris Cornell discussed an Audioslave reunion earlier this year.

The pair took to the stage together in Los Angeles at the Anti-Inaugural Ball on January 20 – a response against Donald Trump being sworn in as US president that same day.

They ripped through Cochise, Like A Stone and Show Me How To Live that day – and in a new interview, Morello says he and the late singer talked about the possibility of doing something together with Audioslave again.

Morello tells Music Feeds: “Just that night, the last thing Chris said to me was, ‘I had a great time, let’s do this again. Just let me know when.’

“And we started talking about maybe doing some sort of similar thing where maybe it would be a Prophets Of Rage show and then we would drop an Audioslave set into the middle of it, and we’d have a ball.”

Reflecting on the January set with Cornell, Morello says: “I just say, ‘Thank god we played it.’ Audioslave hadn’t played in 12 years, although I’d played another show with Chris about a year before that.

“It was wonderful to be close friends and to rock again and to play some Audioslave songs and stand next to him onstage with his rock god powerful self, and his amazing voice, his amazing hair and his amazing whole thing. It was wonderful.

“And we hung out afterwards and it was lovely and we talked about doing it again. And now he’s gone. It’s a horrible tragedy for those of us who knew and loved him and it’s a horrible tragedy for music because he’s one of the best of all time.”

When asked if there are any Audioslave tracks that were never released, Morello says: “Yeah, there are. From each of the three records there are some really great songs that did not – for reasons that had nothing to do with quality of song – did not make the cut on those records.

“And I’m sure they’ll come out at some point. But, you know, not right now.”

Cornell died in May this year at the age of 52.

Tom Morello shares moving tribute to Chris Cornell

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.