Tom Morello recently addressed the status of unreleased Audioslave records. He explained why there are no current plans to release them in a statement shared on SNSMix.
Morello clarified that the decision to leave songs off albums is not always straightforward. The guitarist noted that the selection process involves subjective preferences rather than simply choosing the best material available.
“When bands are deciding what songs go on their records and what don’t, it’s not always sensible,” Morello said. “It’s not like here’s the 10 best jams. Sometimes it’s like, someone likes this one, someone’s not feeling that one. So, we had from each of the three Audioslave records, we had songs left over, some of which are really great.”
Despite the existence of quality unreleased material, Morello emphasized that there is no deliberate strategy to withhold the songs from the public. He expressed optimism about their eventual release.
“It’s not for lack of anything other than that just we don’t have it together,” he continued. “There’s no plan to not put it out. I would love for it to get in the world and hopefully it will one day.”
Morello’s comments shed light on a long-standing mystery among Audioslave fans. The guitarist revealed what happened to all the material that didn’t make the cut.
Over the years, Morello has been candid about the scope of this unreleased catalog. He revealed just how much music remains locked away. iHeart reported that Morello described the unreleased collection as ranging from “a small cache” to “an album’s worth” to even “a lot of records worth” of unreleased songs. The quality of this material is reportedly excellent. Morello emphasized that some of his favorite Audioslave songs never fully saw the light of day.
The primary reason these tracks remain unreleased is simply that the band never organized a formal plan to release them. WMMR noted that there are no current impediments to releasing the material. It’s a matter of coordination and decision-making rather than contractual or technical barriers.
One particularly famous unreleased song is “Sleight of Hand.” It was nearly the first single for the 2006 album Revelations. Loudwire revealed that bassist Tim Commerford objected to the track, believing it “sounded like a Danzig song.” He got into an argument with a record label executive about including it. The conflict ultimately led to the band deciding not to release it.
A significant factor preventing release is the death of vocalist Chris Cornell in 2017. Morello had previously stated that he and Cornell planned to tour with Audioslave again and create a new album. These plans never materialized following Cornell’s passing. While there are no current plans for release, Morello indicated there’s still a chance the material could eventually emerge. He expressed hope that the unreleased tracks would someday be released to fans.
