I was in my friend’s dorm room last week and she had her TV tuned to MTV2, and a really weird video came on. There were so many fireworks in the video, I couldn’t see any of the band members. Instead, I only made them out to be dark figures.

“What the hell is this?” I asked my friend.

“I don’t know. It sounds like Chris Cornell and Rage Against the Machine,” my friend guessed. “Their name is Audioslave.”

It did sound like them, but I took my friend’s words with a grain of salt and decided to find out for myself who these guys were.

Yeah, well, I know this sounds weird, but she was right.

Audioslave, whose self-titled debut album was released yesterday, is a new band that is a combination of ex-Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell and ex-Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk.

Sound like a dangerous combination? I look at it as throwing a lit match onto gasoline.

I just want to throw something on the table for you – check this out: for those who were taking a nap during the late ’90s, Soundgarden and Rage Against the Machine are two bands that broke up on very bad terms. Soundgarden was one of the founding fathers of grunge and consisted of lead vocalist Cornell, guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Hiro Yamamoto, and drummer Matt Cameron. The band broke up in April of 1997 due to Cornell’s alleged drug problem and other internal problems of the band. Rage Against the Machine, a once revolutionary and political rock band, consisted of lead vocalist Zack De La Rocha, Morello, Commerfeld and Brad Wilk. De La Rocha left the band on a very bad note in 2000, which pretty much pronounced the death of the band.

So, let’s take a vote. Who thinks that Audioslave is going to last, after the band members’ tarnished histories?

Anyone? Anyone?

If Audioslave lasts, then don’t be too surprised when you’re sitting in a window seat on a plane and see a pig outside flying right alongside with you.

Let’s take a closer look at Cornell alone. This dude is an awesome musician, but it always seems like nothing works out for him career-wise. Cornell went solo about two years ago and had a hit single, “Can’t Change Me.” His solo career had a very short life, and no one really knows why. Does Cornell have a problem with sticking with one project for a long time, or is there another unknown reason?

What about the orphans of Rage? Their amazing singer left them hangin’ high and dry, and it seems like they’re looking for a new daddy of some sort. Is Cornell the right choice? Musically, it is a great combination. But let’s look at it rationally: just because the musical combination is magical, it doesn’t mean that the band members’ social chemistry will do the same.

So let’s all close our eyes tightly, take a deep breath, and cross our fingers. If anyone has a lucky rabbit’s foot or happens to be near a well and has a penny in his pocket, please take advantage. Audioslave is an amazing and unreal combination of two of the best modern rock bands ever.

Let’s hope it lasts.