Corporate America & George Bush, Meet Rage Against The Machine

When Alternative Rock emerged from the underground music scene in 1992, it helped destroy old genres from the 1980s and in favor of new sub genres from the underground music scene. One of the new sub genres that were in fruitions was a new wave of heavy metal music that was known simply as Alternative Metal. When the underground music scene was serving as an alternative to the bland hair-metal scene of the late 80s, there were several bands that loved metal music from bands like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath but wanted to push things further.

In Seattle, bands like Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and other groups who took Sabbath’s sound to a more dissonant level and blend it with D.I.Y. style of punk. Other bands ranging from Jane’s Addiction, Ministry, Primus, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were all taking different musical styles to heavy metal and ended up becoming innovators to the scene especially Primus and the Chili Peppers who added funk to their repertoire. In 1991 during the first Lollapalooza festival, seminal L.A. rapper Ice-T premiered his new metal band Body Count that helped fused the genres between rock and hip-hop. That same year, speed-metal icons Anthrax teamed up with the influential hip-hop group Public Enemy for a remake of Public Enemy’s “Bring The Noise” that became a ground breaking collaboration taking the intensity of metal and rhythms of hip-hop. In 1992, Alternative Metal finally emerged as bands like Tool and Helmet both give metal a new edge. Tool with their progressive rock influence and Helmet with their melodic and minimalist approach that would become the prototype for the late 90s nu-metal movement. Another band that emerged from the new sub genre was a Los Angeles based quartet that took metal’s aggression, fused it with the lyrical and rhythmic stance of hip-hop and added it with political and social commentary that hasn’t been heard since the late 60s proto-punk band the MC5. They were known to the world as Rage Against The Machine.

Throughout their ten-year career, Rage Against The Machine has been known as one of the most gifted and innovative bands of the 1990s. Singer Zach De La Roca’s vocals are intense as he raps about the social and political ills of the world while being followed by the powerful rhythm section of bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk, and the innovative guitar complexity of Tom Morello who brings in metal guitar shreds and blend it with hip-hop rhythms and turntable-like scratches that made Morello one of the most brilliant guitarists of the 1990s. In 1992, Rage Against The Machine secured a deal with Epic that surprised some of their fans since Rage who has been known for aligning against corporations have signed a deal with a corporate label. Despite that issue, Rage went ahead to create their self-titled debut.

The debut album from Rage Against The Machine is one of the strongest releases in the 1990s with its innovative sound of shredded guitar riffs, thunderous rhythms, and Zach De La Roca’s militant lyrics that brought radical politics back to the music world. The album’s ten songs all carry a political or social message that is relevant in the year 1992 since it was an election year where U.S. president George Bush was on his way to losing his office to Bill Clinton in the fall of that year. Rage’s debut was also one of the most ferocious and uncompromising records of that year that can be widely compared to albums like the political hip-hop group Public Enemy’s 1988 masterpiece “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” and punk pioneers the MC5 and their album “Kick Out The Jams”. With Rage Against The Machine’s debut release, the rock world was never the same.

The first track on the album is the ferocious “Bombtrack” that opens up with Tom Morello playing a building guitar riff that is then followed by a thunderous crash from the rhythm section of drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerfold (credited as Timmy C. in the debut) as singer Zach De La Roca starts to rap his lyrics that are filled with political and political references where Zach raps, “As I recall our downfall/And the business that burned us all/See through the news and views that twists reality/Enough/I call the bluff/Manifest destiny” that contains words that are related to the 1992 L.A. riots that is followed by a chorus of “Burn, burn, yes, ya gonna burn” repeatedly as he raps more the social problems of Los Angeles and he raps the chorus again as he is followed by Morello’s shredded guitar solo.

“Killing In The Name” opens up with a loud cymbal crash and buzzing guitar riff that is then followed by the song’s frenetic and thumping rhythm from Wilk’s drumming and Morello’s guitar as De La Roca yells “Killing in the name of…” that turns the song into a slow but powerful metal-driven track as De La Roca repeats the line of “Some of those were forces, are the same that burn crosses” about four times until he gets into the song’s chorus of “And now you did what they told ya” that he repeats throughout the entire song as Wilk’s drums starts to build up for De La Roca who sings another verse of “Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they’re the chosen whites/You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they’re the chosen whites”. De La Roca repeats the verses and chorus of the song that leads to Morello bringing in a brilliant textured guitar solo that leads to De La Roca yelling, “F*ck you! I won’t do what you tell me” repeatedly through the end of the song.

“Take The Power Back” is a visceral and menacing track as Timmy C. brings in funky bass hooks to open up the track as the song’s chaotic rhythm comes in as De La Roca raps about the loss of culture among minorities and how they are taken over by American corporations along with the American school systems for teaching mindless things to the youth of America as he is followed by Morello’s shredded guitar riffs and Wilk’s thunderous beats. “Settle For Nothing” is a slow and brooding track where De La Roca makes social commentary on racism and hatred around the world that contains powerful lyrics like “Hatred passed on, paused on and passed on/A world of violent rage/But it’s one that I can recognize/Having never seen the color of my father’s eyes” and “If ignorance is bliss/Then knock the smile off my face” as his accompanied by Morello’s noise-driven guitar tracks and the thunderous rhythm section of Brad Wilk and Timmy C.

“Bullet In The Head” opens up with a quirky bass hook from Timmy C. as the song’s mid-tempo rhythm bolstered by Brad Wilk’s thunderous drumming and Tom Morello’s turntable-like guitar scratches and solos as Zach De La Roca sings about guns and the negative influence especially shown on television that includes a chorus where he raps, “Just victims of the in-house drive-by/They say jump, you say how high” with lyrical references in the verses of rape and Alcatraz as he whispers by the near-end of the song, “Ya standin’ in line/Believin’ the lies/Ya bowin’ down to the flag/Ya gotta bullet in ya head” as he repeats the last line until he screams “Bullet in your head” ferociously as the song’s tempo gets more intense until its end.

“Know Your Enemy” that starts off with a scratchy guitar solo from Morello as the song’s funky mid-tempo rhythm starts off the song until about the thirty-seven second mark when the song’s tempo changes to a more up tempo rhythm as De La Roca raps about the prejudice and problems of the world as he raps in one verse saying, “Word is born/Fight the war, f*ck the norm/Now I got no patience/So sick of complacence/With the D E F I A N C E/The mind of a revolutionary/So clear the lane/The finger to the land of chains/What? The land of the free? Whoever told you that is your enemy”. The song then goes into another verse with Tool singer Maynard James Keenan and percussion accompaniment from Jane’s Addiction/Porno For Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins as Keenan and De La Roca sings, “I’ve got no patience now/So sick of complacence now/I’ve got no patience now/So sick of complacence now/Sick of, sick of, sick of, sick of, sick of you” that then leads to Keenan screaming “The time has come to pay”. Morello’s guitar solo comes in that leads into De La Roca rapping the final verse of the song as he raps, “Yes I know my enemies/They’re the teachers who taught me to fight me/Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission, ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite/All of which are American dreams” as he repeats the final line throughout the song.

“Wake Up” is a slow and brooding track led by the dark melodic bass grooves that builds up into a maniacal crash of noisy guitars and crashing drums as De La Roca raps the bigotry and radicalism of the 1960s as he says references to Vietnam, Muhammad Ali, and Martin Luther King Jr. De La Roca’s lyrics are filled with power as he raps, “Movements come and movements go/Leaders speak, movements cease/When their heard are flown/Cause all these punks got bullets in their heads/Departments of police, the judges, the feds/Networks at work, keepin’ people calm” as Morello brings in a ferocious guitar solo in the middle of the song. “Fistful of Steel” is a visceral track with blazing metal guitar riffs and thunderous beats as De La Roca raps his surroundings in the street of Los Angeles with references to prejudice and violence with his angst-filled vocals. “Township Rebellion” is another powerful track that features exotic percussions mixed in with Wilk’s thunderous drums and Morello’s complex guitar shredding. De La Roca raps about the conditions and prejudices of the world that includes mention of South Central Los Angeles and Johannesburg, South Africa as he raps “Why stand on a silent platform/Fight the war/F*ck the norm” in the song that is accompanied by Morello’s guitars and the chaotic rhythm section power of Wilk and Timmy C.

The album’s closer is the powerful “Freedom” with its crashing rhythm section bolstered by Brad Wilk’s powerful drumming and the funky bass hooks of Timmy C. while Tom Morello brings in metal riffs to the track. Zach De La Roca comes in and raps about the prejudices of the world including Native Americans where the video for the song showcased the troubles Native Americans had with the U.S. government that led to the arrest of activist Leonard Peltier who had been accused of killing FBI agents. De La Roca continues to rap about the prejudices of the world as he whispers, “Your anger is a gift” that leads to the band bringing in a ferocious and powerful instrumental part that features crashing drums and blazing guitar riffs that leads Morello to perform a guitar solo. After De La Roca says that line again, the song’s intensity rises up and then softens down as De La Roca says the word “Freedom” quietly until the song’s momentum builds up as De La Roca screams “Freedom!!!!! Yeah, right” as Brad Wilk’s drums are hit with a ferocious power and Morello’s guitar is at its most noisiest and chaotic till the end as drums and guitars crash down to end this album.

Rage Against The Machine’s self-titled debut would become one of most brilliant debut records in the 1990s. The buzz concerning the band’s radicalism and rap-metal sound would garner the band acclaim and a spot on third Lollapalooza festival in 1993 with Primus, Tool, and Alice In Chains. Though the band would record three more albums until Zach De La Roca’s departure in 2000, Rage Against The Machine’s debut is widely considered the band’s best effort to date since it helped perfect the fusion of hip-hop and metal. In the end, Rage Against The Machine’s debut is one of the greatest and most uncompromising albums of the 1990s.