By the beginning of 2005, Audioslave had established that they were much more than a novelty coming-together between two of the biggest rock bands of the 90s and then some. The group, uniting ex-Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell with former Rage Against The Machine members Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, had blown up big with their 2002 self-titled debut, a multi-million-selling hit that contained some of the fiercest and anthemic rock songs of the early 00s.
For their next move, though, they did something much more daring, introducing their second record Out Of Exile with one of the most historically significant shows in rock history. Other bands of their ilk might embark on a small club show to ramp up a frenzy ahead of a new record, or maybe put on a guerilla gig in the middle of town. Not Audioslave, though. No, they set their sights on a momentous one and in early May, 2000 – 20 years ago next week – caught a flight down to Havana, Cuba to play a huge concert and become the first US rock band to play an open-air concert in the country -at the time the band believed they were the first US group to play there full-stop but there were a handful of gigs from their compatriots in the late 70s and early 80s.
