Carry On, Chris Cornell's New Album

Former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell is about to release a new album, Carry On.

Chris Cornell, American guitarist, singer and songwriter, most famous for being the frontman of Soundgarden and later Audioslave, will begin his American tour in Las Vegas on April 6, 2007. Cornell will use the opportunity to present songs from his upcoming album, Carry On. The new album, Cornell's second, will be released in May 2007. His first album, Euphoria Morning, was released in 1999. Even though it received critical acclaim, the album was not a commercial success in spite of the single "Can't Change Me," which was nominated for the best male vocals at the 2000 Grammies. The album also includes the song "Wave Goodbye," dedicated to his late friend, singer songwriter Jeff Buckley. 

Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains, Soundgarden was one of the biggest and most successful Seattle bands that sprung from the grunge scene in the early 1990s. Cornell became famous for the power and range of his voice as well as for his dark lyrics. Soundgarden also tasted success when they released their third album Badmotorfinger in 1991, followed by their most successful album, Superunknown, in 1994. Well received both by fans and critics, the album sold in seven million copies worldwide. The last album, Down on the Upside, released in 1996, announced the break up of the band, after which the band ceased to exist on account of differences among the members.  

When he was with Soundgarden, Cornell recorded an album with the future members of Pearl Jam. The cooperation was done under the name Temple of Dog and their first, eponymous album was released in 1991. Thanks to the singles "Say Hello to Heaven" and "Hunger Strike," which Cornell and Eddie Vedder sang in a duet, the album sold in more than a million copies. Afterwards, the band members along with the new singer, Eddie Vedder, formed the famous Pearl Jam. 

Audioslave came into existence after Rage Against the Machine had lost the singer and Chris and his specific voice jumped in and saved the day. The recording of the first album went smoothly, since everyone felt a collective surge of creativity. The album, named after the band, was released in 2002 and achieved great success in the USA. The second album, Out of Exile, made a debut in 2005 in the number one spot on the American album charts. Critics noticed that Chris's voice sounded better after he had given up cigarettes and alcohol. The band toured the USA and Canada and, on May 31, 2005, they became the first American rock band to perform in Cuba, when they played a free gig in front of 70,000 people. Early in 2006, their third album, Revelations, came out. Two songs from the album were included in the movie Miami Vice. Even though the album got good grades, Audioslave did not go on tour after releasing it, but they simply split. Lter, Chris said that they had split because of personal conflicts as well as musical differences. 

It is an interesting sidenote that it was none other than Chris Cornell who wrote and performed the song for the James Bond movie Casino Royale in 2006. "You Know My Name" is the first song in the Bond series since Octopussy (1983) that has a different title than the movie and the first one not to appear on the soundtrack, while Chris is the first male singer since The Living Daylights (1987) and the first American singer in any Bond movie ever.