Editing Rage Against the Machine (section)

=== 2002—2006: Side projects ===
After the breakup, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford decided to stay together and find a new vocalist.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> "There was talk for a while of us becoming [[Ozzy Osbourne]]'s backing band, and even [[Macy Gray]]'s," said Morello. "We informed {{Bracket|[[Epic Records]]}} that losing our singer was actually a blessing in disguise, and that we had bigger ambitions than being somebody's hired musicians."<ref name="ReferenceA" /> Their friend, the producer [[Rick Rubin]], suggested they play with [[Chris Cornell]] of [[Soundgarden]]. Along with Cornell, they formed [[Audioslave]].<ref name="AudioslaveAM">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/audioslave-mw0000229110|title=Audioslave - Audioslave|website=[[AllMusic]]|first=Stephen|last=Erlewine|access-date=September 23, 2019|archive-date=June 8, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120608054234/https://www.allmusic.com/album/audioslave-mw0000229110|url-status=live}}</ref> Their first single, "[[Cochise (song)|Cochise]]", was released in November 2002, and their [[Audioslave (album)|self-titled debut album]] followed to mainly positive reviews. In contrast to Rage Against the Machine, most of Audioslave's music was apolitical, although some songs touched on political issues. Their second album, ''[[Out of Exile]]'' debuted at the number one position on the Billboard charts in 2005.<ref name="outofexcilenumberone" /> Audioslave released its third album ''[[Revelations (Audioslave album)|Revelations]]'' on September 4, 2006, but did not tour as Cornell and Morello were working on solo albums. After months of inactivity and rumors of a breakup, Audioslave disbanded on February 15, 2007, after Cornell announced he was leaving the band "due to irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences".<ref name="cornellquit" />

In 2003, Morello began playing acoustic [[folk music]] at [[open mike|open-mic nights]] and clubs under the alias [[the Nightwatchman]], which he formed as an outlet for his political views while playing apolitical music with Audioslave. He participated in [[Billy Bragg]]'s Tell Us the Truth tour<ref name="Wiederhorn" /> with no plans to record,<ref name="Moss" /> but recorded a song for ''[[Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11]]'', "No One Left". In April 2007, he released an album, ''[[One Man Revolution]],''<ref name="firedup" /> followed by ''The Fabled City'' on September 30, 2008. Morello and the rapper [[Boots Riley]] formed the [[rap rock]] group [[Street Sweeper Social Club]], and released their [[Street Sweeper Social Club (album)|debut self-titled album]] in June 2009.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha had been working on an album with [[DJ Shadow]], [[Company Flow]], [[Roni Size]] and [[Questlove]],<ref name="zackquit" /> but dropped the project in favor of working with [[Trent Reznor]] of [[Nine Inch Nails]].<ref name="reznor" /> The album was not released.<ref name="Gargano" /> A collaboration between De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha and DJ Shadow, the song "March of Death" was released free online in 2003 in protest of the imminent [[2003 invasion of Iraq|invasion of Iraq]].<ref name="March of Death" /> The 2004 soundtrack ''Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11'' included one of the collaborations with Reznor, "[[We Want It All]]".<ref name="reznor" /> In late 2005, De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha performed with the [[son jarocho]] band [[Son de Madera]], singing and playing the [[jarana huasteca]].<ref name="Spin" />

The band refused large sums of money to reunite for concerts and tours.<ref name="MTV News" /> Rumors of tension between De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha and the others circulated. Commerford said that he and De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha saw each other often and went surfing together. Morello said he and De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha communicated by phone, and had met at a 2005 protest in support of the [[South Central Farm]].<ref name="Rockline" />