April 16, 1996 - Evil Empire

A month after my last release and three and a half years since their self-titled debut album, Rage Against The Machine released their second album "Evil Empire" on April 16, 1996. That's a long gap between first and second albums, but Rage are still doing what they did on their groundbreaking debut with politically charged rapping lyrics and some pretty cool and crazy music. Let's see what the new Rage sounds like!

The album begins with it's three singles right off the bat, starting with "People Of The Sun". Tom Morello plays a repetitive but catchy guitar riff and it's bassist Tim Commerford who plays the more interesting stuff, and he sounds pretty good. Brad Wilk throws in some cool percussion at times and Zack de la Rocha raps nicely overtop. It's just the verse and chorus jammed out a few times but it's still a pretty catchy little tune. Up next is "Bulls On Parade" and this would become one of their most popular songs. It's easy to see why as Morello plays some pretty cool guitar to lead the way and Commerford and Wilk form a groovy rhythm section to match. It's a little repetitive, but it's undeniably catchy and easy to see why it was a succesful single. Morello's guitar solo does not sound anything like a guitar, more like a DJ on turntables, but it sounds pretty cool and he is playing it on a guitar! They wrap things up with a heavy final verse and chorus and this is an instant classic! Track 3 is called "Vietnow" and I love throughout the song how Zack sings "turn on the radio. Nah, fuck it, turn it off". His rapping is pretty good on this one as he puts some nice emphasis on certain lyrics, including "ahhhhhh shit I gotta headrush". Wilk's drum beat is pretty solid and the guitar and bass sync up for some cool stop-and-start music. Zack sings "is all the world jails and churches?" while Morello nicely builds things up behind him until they just return to the main riff (I think they forgot the solo). It's still a cool song, but it certainly could've used some crazy Morello spice! The next track is "Revolver" and Morello plays some absolutely insane stuff in the intro that is pretty sweet and then they nicely kick into a heavy riff with some catchy guitar. The verse is much quieter with Zack singing softly to match, but the heavy, catchy riff returns and Morello plays some pretty cool guitar in the chorus. Things slow down and get quiet at one point, and Wilk's drums nicely build and build until everyone is rockin' out full force to end it. Track 5 is "Snakecharmer" and the verse is a little tamer and less exciting than most Rage, but the chorus makes up for it with a nice heavy jam and Zack doing some near screaming "yeah!" Morello gives us another very unique solo: this one sounds like high pitched wind whistling and it's crazy that it's being played on a guitar! It's not your typical flashy solo, more like a break in a wind tunnel, but it's interesting! Up next is "Tire Me" and Commerford plays a cool bass riff to kick us off and Morello builds around that with some crazy sounding guitar while Zack sounds nice and emotional on this one and I love his energy. Morello steps on another crazy pedal for this "guitar" solo, and words don't do justice to the crazy and awesome noises he can make a guitar spit out. It's a really cool solo and they pack a lot of heavy goodness into this short song. Track 7 is called "Down Rodeo" and I like the opening lyrics:  "I'm rollin' down Rodeo with a shotgun. These people ain't seen a brown-skinned man since their grandparents bought one". Zack raps lots of good lyrics in this one and the guitar and bass both sound pretty great throughout this whole song with lots of cool stuff by both Morello and Commerford. The next song is "Without A Face" and Morello plays some cool high guitar while Commerford carries things with some solid bass. The chorus is loud and pretty rockin' and Morello plays another one-of-a-kind solo that unsurprisingly sounds pretty good. They finish the song with a heavy new riff with Zack doing some nice yelling and this was one of my favourites off the album for sure! Track 9 is "Wind Below" and it's another pretty sweet song with a nice catchy chorus and a pretty cool main riff led by some more interesting "guitar" by Morello. His solo is similar to the one earlier on the album where it sounds like we're in a wind tunnel and Morello is playing some really high almost whistling guitar. It sounds very interesting, but honestly it's not a very exciting solo. There's a quiet part that eventually turns into a heavy closing riff and this song had some awesome parts, and some other less awesome parts. Up next is "Roll Right" and they kick right into another cool and catchy chorus riff and words don't properly do justice to describe all these crazy different riffs Rage writes. With Morello able to make his guitar seemingly sound like anything, these guys can draw up all kinds of unique riffs and Commerford's excellent bass keeps the pace while Morello is off doing his thing. His solo in this song is pretty quiet, but it's really, really good and he plays some unbelievably awesome stuff. That's another pretty sweet tune! The album wraps up with the final track "Year Of Tha Boomerang" which has a groovy main riff with Zack nicely rapping overtop. The pace picks up and things sound pretty good, then they hit reset and do it all again. It's not a terrible decision, just a bit of a repetitive one. They do end things on a nice heavy note.

That is the end of "Evil Empire" and I thought it was a pretty good album. Tom Morello continues to surprise and amaze with his unique style of guitar and Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk provide the more than capable rhythm section. I didn't think it stood out quite as much as their spectacular self-titled debut so it'll have to settle for 2nd place, but it's still a solid album the whole way through and Rage Against The Machine show they are still a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully it's not so long between albums this time!