An interesting Revelation(s) has come forward about the creation of Audioslave, a supergroup formed in 2001 by members of Rage Against The Machine and fronted by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell: Layne Staley of Alice in Chains may have been the first choice for vocalist. A former roommate of the deceased musician claimed that the Ragers had reached out and Staley planned on cleaning up and making a run at it after severe years out of the music business.
"He said he had gotten a call from the old Rage Against The Machine members and they were putting together a new project, and they wanted him to audition," said Morgen Gallagher. "He said he was going back to treatment and then going to L.A. to do the audition in a couple of months."
Those familiar with Staley's story know that it never happened. The vocalist had battled drug issues, along with the rest of Alice in Chains, as one of the heaviest groups to come out of Seattle's grunge scene. After the release of the band's self-titled album during 1995, the abuse became too much and the group fell apart, if not officially. Staley was a virtual shut-in, nursing a heroin habit that would eventually kill him during 2002. Even if he had made it to treatment in 2001, it hardly guarantees that he would have stayed clean.
It's tough to imagine Staley's vocals, known more for inducing unease than the powerhouse approach of Cornell, at the front of Audioslave songs such as "Cochise" or "Show Me How To Live." Then again, perhaps the band would have gone about its songwriting process in an entirely different manner. Either way, fans of heavy '90s rock got a supergroup they could dig.
Granted, we would have preferred Staley at the front of Audioslave, even if it only meant that it would deter him away from his habits. However, based on the history of Alice in Chains, it doesn't seem like anything was going to steer Staley away from his habits.
