November 3, 1992 - Rage Against The Machine and Rage Against The Machine

18 days after my last release a new band joins my library when Rage Against The Machine released their debut album "Rage Against The Machine" on November 3, 1992. But who are Rage Against The Machine? They are a four-piece band from Los Angeles, California consisting of drummer Brad Wilk, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and lead singer Zack de la Rocha and they are the first band to really combine metal music with rapping vocals. Their musical style is pretty heavy and you could say their lyrics are pretty heavy as well as they are very politically charged. There was also a note on the record sleeve that said "no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record" and when you hear some of the crazy noises in this music that statement is pretty insane! Let's see what Rage Against The Machine is all about!

The album begins with "Bombtrack" and it starts loff quiet with just bass and guitar before things take a thunderous turn into a nice loud and heavy riff. Morello carries the verse with some cool guitar while Zack raps overtop and while the rapping vocals still aren't my favourite I think Zack's voice fits the music pretty well. The heavy opening riff turns out to be the chorus riff and they nicely return for another verse before thundering into another chorus. Morello plays his first solo of the album, and while it's still a pretty cool little solo, it actually sounds like a guitar which is a bit of an anomaly. They close it out with a final chorus and end the song on a nice heavy note. The next song is the popular "Killing In The Name" which opens with some nice epic bass from Commerford and Wilk plays some nice percussion as well before Morello joins in to complete the riff. After a bit of jamming Zack says "killing in the name of..." and the music shifts to a new riff that is pretty catchy and still nice and heavy. The verse is just Zack repeating "some of those that work forces, are the same that burn crosses" and after saying the name of the song they shift into another repetitive part with Zack singing "Now you do what they told ya". This leads into a nice heavy part with some loud rapping vocals and then they hit repeat and do it all again. We arrive at a sweet Morello guitar solo that sounds very cool and it devolves nicely into Zack repeating yet another line, this time "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me". It builds and builds until things are really raging and they play a great heavy finish to this iconic song. Track 3 is called "Take The Power Back" and it opens with drums and some nice creepy guitar from Morello. Zack says "crank the music up" and then we hear a sweet bass riff by Tim. Zack sings "Bring that shit in" and Morello echoes the same riff on guitar for a cool main riff. Zack does some fast rapping that sounds pretty good in the verse and he just yells the name of the song in the chorus. They play another cool verse another chorus and Zack nicely goes "ah, shit!" before the guitar solo begins. It's a nice mix of guitar and cool noises and Morello also plays a nice short segue riff that brings us to a quieter part. Wilk plays some more cool percussion while Zack raps in the spotlightand they nicely resume the final verse and chorus it seems..., but a light guitar riff continues. Zack says "no more lies" several times and then there's a nice heavy breakdown to finish things off, a very strong finish! The next song is "Settle For Nothing" and Commerford carries the music with a quiet but cool bass riff while Morello plays some eerie guitar noises that sound pretty good. Zack sings in a hushed voice to match the mood in the verse and they shift to a nice loud chorus. After another quiet verse and loud chorus Morello gets a good amount of time to deliver a long solo and man does he nail it, playing an epic and awesome solo. Zack's next line to repeat is "If we don't take action now, we'll settle for nothing later. If we settle for nothing now, then we'll settle for nothing later" and they do the same thing as earlier, beginning saying it quietly and then nicely shifting to a much louder and heavier version of the same riff. 

Track 5 is "Bullet In The Head" and Commerford plays a cool bass riff to keep the pace while Morello makes some weird noises that it's crazy to think are made on guitar and they add another interesting sound to the main riff while Zack raps overtop. I love the line in the chorus "They say jump, you say how high?" and it's followed by a pretty awesome Morello guitar solo. We hear another chorus, verse and chorus before a decent instrumental part breaks down into a cool bass riff by Commerford. They do a nice job building things back up until Zack is screaming the name of the song nicely and the music slowly speeds up and culminates with a nice heavy finish. Up next is "Know Your Enemy" which is featuring Maynard James Keenan from Tool! Morello plays a cool, catchy guitar riff to open things and he shifts nicely to a new heavier riff, Zack sings the name of the song and then the rhythm section joins in to form a cool main riff. Zack raps a solid verse overtop and then they hit reset. No real chorus, just nicely into another verse. Maynard's verse is alright, it's pretty quiet until a nice final yell and best eats the stage for what I think is Morello's best solo yet. He is shredding his guitar for the first time, but the tone or pedal he is using sounds so cool! A phenomenal solo the whole way through and it kicks beautifully into the heavy final riff that is pretty sweet as well. Rage plus Maynard equals a pretty awesome song. Track 7 is called "Wake Up" and it kicks right into a nice heavy riff with some fast-paced guitar, Commerford plays yet another pretty sweet bass riff to back things and Morello soon echoes him on guitar for a loud and solid chorus riff. Morello makes some cool turntable-like noises on guitar while Zack raps the verse. They play the heavy chorus riff, another verse, then a nice return to the heavy opening riff. It gets very quiet, and then things explode into a great heavy riff as Zack screams "wake uuuuuup!" several times and he sounds awesome giving it his all. The song then ends on a solo as Morello plays some awesome, crazy sounding guitar and Commerford's bass sounds pretty gnarly as well. A fantastic way to end a pretty awesome song. The next song is "Fistful Of Steel" and it opens with some trippy noises that are somehow Morello on guitar and he morphs it nicely into a more guitar-sounding riff before Commerford and Wilk come thundering in to complete another nice headbanger of a chorus riff. Things get quiet as they move into the verse and Commerford keeps the pace with a pretty sweet bass riff while Zack raps a nice verse overtop and Morello plays some crazy high-pitched noises on guitar. Zack sings the name of the song as they return to the heavy chorus riff and the next verse begins with just vocals and drums and that sounds good. After another chorus Morello plays a pretty crazy and cool solo and it leads nicely into a heavy new riff that alternates between quiet and heavy and loud and the shift to the loud part sounds great. Morello eventually solos overtop this riff and he sounds sweet as usual. They then end the song with a nice heavy part. Track 9 is "Township Rebellion" and it kicks right into a bit of a funky beat with Commerford playing some cool bass, Wilk keeping a nice drum beat that even features some cowbell(!) and Morello chiming in with some high-pitched clicks that are somehow a guitar. Zack is rapping overtop this interesting main riff but things shift into a more typical Rage riff for the chorus as they slow it down for a nice headbanger. After another cool offbeat verse and another slow chorus Morello delivers another out of this world solo that isn't shredding or really technical, it just sounds so cool and crazy! Aftet another chorus they nicely break things down into a catchy new riff led by some nice bass. Zack sings slowly overtop and he slowly ramps things up until he's yelling and I like his primal yells. Things snap back to the chorus to finish off this track. The final song on the album is "Freedom" and it kicks right into a typically heavy chorus riff with Morello playing mostly regular guitar but chiming in with bits of cool noises to make a pretty cool riff. The music quiets down a bit as Zack starts to rap the verse but it returns to loud in the chorus. The next verse has parts with no bass and Zack really shines in the spotlight. After another chorus they nicely break into a fast-paced new riff and this sets the stage for a Morello solo. Words don't do justice to yet another cool and crazy solo wnd the segue out of it is pretty good too. They play one more verse, do the nice shift to the fast riff again and then a quiet part that makes the ensuing loud breakdown hit really hard. Zack is yelling the name of the song overtop and everything sounds pretty sweet. Morello does a long feedback ending that sounds pretty trippy to close out the song and the album.

That is the end of "Rage Against The Machine" and I thought it was a pretty sweet album! It was definitely a first to combine straight rapping vocals with not just metal music, but some hard-hitting and pretty heavy metal music and even though I'm not a fan of rap I like Zack de la Rocha's style. But the real reason I love this album is the heavy music: Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk form a great rhythm section that drives the album while Tom Morello shows off with some great guitar riffs and some insane solos that sound like nothing you've ever heard before. Altogether it's a pretty awesome debut album and one that'll be tough to top, but I look forward to hearing what's next for Rage Against The Machine!