Sunday, April 26, 2009

Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)


Aaah, Rage Against The Machine. Perhaps the greatest rap rock/metal bands of all time unleashed their titanesque debut album in 1992. This album would lead to countless imitators and usher in a new (or should I say nu?) genre of music into the mainstream. Even if it's not the best example to put forth, without RATM, bands such as Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit would probably never even see the limelight. Propelled by Tom Morello's 'sounds anything but a guitar'-guitar solos and Zack De La Rocha's angry and confrontational vocals, this behemoth of an album managed to successfully fuse heavy metal and rap music together.As your typical angry young teenager this album made me,well, more angry! (In a good a way of course).Alas, I don't feel the same way anymore, but the feeling I got when I first heard the album needs to be experienced at least once by every fan of good music.

The album kicks off with a funky bassline by bassist Tim Commerford on 'Bombtrack' and never lets go. There is not one song on the whole album that is not heavy. There are even some songs that are so heavy that they make the other songs pale in comparision! Songs like 'Bullet In The Head' and 'Killing In The Name' were instant classics.The next time you heat someone say 'Fuck you I wont do what you tell me!', you'll know where they got that. Many of the guitar riffs on the album are Zeppelin-esque in nature such as the brilliant 'Wake Up' which appeared on the Matrix soundtrack. The album ends with the epic 'Freedom'. If the other songs on this album didn't make you break something this song surely well! I cannot continue this review without mentioning a certain Mr. Tom Morello. Simply put, the man is a genius. The main guitar riffs are all in the vein of traditional heavy metal but the guitar solos are out of this world.One has to just hear the songs to know what I'm talking about. That isn't to say there aren't any normal guitar solos ('Know Your Enemy') . Lyrically,the album is highly political, influenced by Zack De La Rocha's leftist political views. The lyrics deal with media control,anti-war and anti-authoritarian subjects just to name a few. To a casual listener they may seem highly over the top and may get repetitive over a time. This album was meant to invoke feelings of rebellion so remember 'fight the war fuck the norm'!

Song Picks :
  • Bombtrack
  • Bullet In The Head
  • Killing In The Name
  • Wake Up
  • Know Your Enemy
  • Freedom

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