Chris Cornell has announced that he has left Audioslave, citing “irresolvable personality conflicts as well as musical differences”. He will now return to his solo career.

Speaking to Billboard.com, Cornell said, “This is something I don’t want to do anymore. There were problems from the very beginning and we dealt with them in a great way. We made three great records. We were a band that got along great, but we’ve also had our differences. My focus is definitely on doing my own music now.”

Wasting no time at all, he also announced that his new solo album, Carry On, (the follow-up to 1999’s Euphoria Morning) will be released via Suretone/Interscope on 1st May. Included in the album’s fourteen tracks will be a cover of Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and You Know My Name, the theme to recent James Bond movie, Casino Royale.

No comment has come from the other members of Audioslave, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, as yet. This is probably due to them being busy with the reformation of their previous band, Rage Against The Machine (who split in 2000 due to pretty much the same reasons as Cornell is citing now) for a one-off performance at this year’s Coachella festival.

Asked if he might now return to Soundgarden (who split in 1997), Cornell said, “If we got together to play one show, sure. A tour wouldn’t make sense to me. To make another record? I think it’s possible, but I don’t know what it would take to make me feel that - I like the idea that Soundgarden fans will always be able to listen to their Soundgarden records without having to think about a show or a [new] record that’s going to bum them out.”