December 5, 2000 - Renegades

Three weeks after my last release and just a year since "The Battle Of Los Angeles", Rage Against The Machine released their fourth album "Renegades" on December 5, 2000. Sadly, two months before this album's release, Rage Against The Machine broke up and so this is their final album! It's a pretty sad development for such a unique and influential band, and it's a really weird way to go out, because this is a cover album! Rage cover a variety of different bands and artists that inspired them, and while I'm all for cover albums, it's just a weird way to end their career. Let's listen to some Rage covers!

The albul kicks off with "Microphone Fiend", cover of hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. Tom Morello plays a funky guitar riff, Tim Commerford adds some cool backing bass and Zack de la Rocha does a much if quick rapping that sounds pretty good as well. The chorus is a little repetitive but it's pretty catchy and Morello plays some nice louder guitar. After the next round Morello nicely switches to a catchy new guitar riff, things get very quiet and Zack raps in a slow whisper. Things are just waiting to burst, and when they finally do explode it's hard not to headbang along. This leads nicely into a final chorus and this song was a little repetitive, but it was still pretty good. Up next is "Pistol Grip Pump", a cover of rapper Volume 10, and Morello leads the way with another unique and interesting guitar riff (words usually struggle to accurately describe the noises Morello makes a guitar make). The verse has no guitar at all though as Commerford carries the beat with a simple, low bass riff and Zack leads the way with some more solid rapping. The guitar returns for the chorus, which is not only very repetitive, but one of it's two lines has the N-word, so there is a lot of that going on, which isn't my favourite. After another go round Morello delivers a guitar solo that is not all that complicated, but of course it sounds pretty cool in whatever weird tone he plays it in. This song is a lesser one for me, but it's not surprising that I don't like the straight rap cover, at least the hip-hop one had some funky beats! Track 3 is "Kick Out The Jams" , a cover of 60s rock band MC5, and this style I can definitely get behind as Morello plays some of his most standard sounding guitar, but it's a catchy main riff nonetheless. It's also a little weird to hear Zack just sing instead of rap, but he sounds good enough to me (for this song, I wouldn't want him to sing all the time). They do a solid job of course playing this pretty standard rock song, it's just strange to have Rage playing something so basic! Morello spices things up with one of his crazy guitar solos that is easily the best on the album so far and it's a sweet solo for sure! Then it's back to the main drag for a final verse and chorus, then they end it on a classic rock and roll flourish, which has some great bass by Commerford! A pretty solid rock cover! The next track is "Renegades Of Funk", a cover of early hip-hop artist Afrika Bambaataa, and Morello plays some super high, strange sounding guitar as Zack whispers loudly to start things off, Brad Wilk comes in with a catchy drum beat, Commerford then enters on bass, and finally Morello completes the catchy main riff with some simple but epic guitar and Zack raps nicely overtop. The strange guitar part turns out to be the chorus riff and it's an interesting back and forth between these two riffs. Wilk gets a couple chances in the spotlight where he plays some cool conga drums mixed in with his regular kit and this is another abnormal song style for Rage, but they do an excellent job on this one and things sound pretty groovy. Track 5 is "Beautiful World", a Devo cover (a band I never would have guessed would be covered by Rage!), and I'm not sure how the original sounds, but Rage's version is quiet and dark and creepy sounding. Morello plays a light guitar riff that Carrie's things and there's no bass or drums, just this light guitar and Zack singing in a high whisper. He has never sung like this before and it sounds creepy and depressed, so if that's the vibe he went for then he nailed it. It's the shortest song on the album at jist two and a half minutes and it's a very weird two and a half minutes that is very hard to believe is Rage Against the Machine. Up next is "I'm Housin'", a cover of another hip-hop duo I've never heard of called EPMD. Commerford starts us off with a nice groovy bassline and Zack starts to rap nicely overtop. Wilk adds the fitting drum beat and Morello plays some crazy guitar and this totally sounds like a Rage song, which is definitely a good thing. The chorus hits hard and has a cool echo effect at first, then it all comes thundering in with a fantastic full chorus riff with some super catchy guitar and bass. After another solid round it's solo time and Morello shows off with his now best solo this album easily, it's so insane and awesome! The end leads perfectly into the loud chorus and this is a pretty sweet song! Track 7 is "In My Eyes", a cover of punk band Minor Threat, and this is easily my favourite song on this album. The verse has a catchy rhythm section with some cool bass and drums and Zack is full-on screaming and he sounds awesome! The pace picks up considerably in the chorus with some super speedy guitar and bass and Zack continues to yell/scream very nicely overtop. This is a shorter song (not surprising since it's a Minor Threat song), but things sound pretty sweet the whole way through! Very nicely done punk cover! The next track is "How I Could Just Kill A Man", a cover of stoner rock band Cypress Hill, and Morello plays some funky and interesting guitar while Wilk plays a catchy drum beat, Commerford adds some nice funky bass and Zack raps nicely overtook in this pretty Rage-esque riff. They thunder into a loud and catchy chorus woth some cool guitar by Morello as Zack repeats the name of the song in a bit of a boring chorus verse, but the music is good. They play another long, solid verse, then they essentially just jam out the chorus for the whole second half of the song, which is definitely too long as it drags and gets even more boring by the end. Not their best choice in my opinion. Track 9 is "The Ghost Of Tom Joad", a Bruce Springsteen cover, and it has a quiet, trippy opening before they come thundering into a pretty catchy and cool riff that sounds very Rage indeed. Things quiet down as they move into the first verse and Commerford plays some super low bass that sounds great to lead the way as Zack sings slowly overtop. Morello comes in and out with some high guitar and i'm not sure what the original sounds like, but I doubt it's like this! They slam into a mother nice loud chorus and then Wilk plays some cool drums before they go to the next round. Things sound very groovy and cool on this one, it's a slow burn that lasts over five and a half minutes, but it's hard not to tap your foot or bang your head along to this cool song. The lyrics also sound very Rage-ish and you can see why they liked this one and wanted to give it the heavy and awesome Rage experience, well done guys! Up next is "Down On The Street", a cover of The Stooges, and we're going way back for these last three covers. It's got an upbeat and pretty pop-y main riff that is pretty simple and not my favourite. It's very dull for Morello and Zack's singing isn't that great either honestly. The chorus is much  better thankfully with some louder guitars and some nice yelling by Zack. After another poor verse and decent chorus Morello takes off for one of his indescribable solos and it sounds pretty sweet! It's certainly the highlight of the song as they return to the dull verse afterwards for a predictable finish to things. It was an okay song for me, great solo though! Track 11 is "Street Fighting Man", a Rolling Stones cover, and I'm sure that Keith Richards guitar sounded nothing like the funky and crazy riff Morello starts this song off with. Wilk plays some nice drums in the background, Commerford adds some crazy distorted bass and Zack completes this very interesting verse with some space-y vocals that fit this crazy mood nicely. Morello switches to a catchy new guitar riff for the chorus as Zack raps in his normal voice nicely overtop. After another funky round Morello lays another indescribable and crazy solo that I'm sure has to be an improvement on whatever was played here in the original version. They play a final cool verse and then jam out the chorus a few too many times at the end, but it's not enough to spoil this very interesting and cool cover. The final song on the album is "Maggie's Farm", a Bob Dylan cover, and somehow I don't think the original version started with a pretty sweet and catchy and loud electric guitar riff, some great groovy bass and a nice loud drum beat, but that's how we're starting here and if Bob Dylan sounded like this I'd definitely listen to him more! The music quiets just a little as Zack comes in to sing the verse and he delivers each line really well. It's a long verse that slowly ramps up, first with some cool bass, then the guitar syncs up and plays the same riff in the chorus and things sound pretty cool. After another long verse and chorus they explode into a cool part with great guitar drums and bass, then quiet right down to  nothing but vocals, then the music comes back, then after it falls away a second time, Morello takes us back to the main riff with a really cool segue before they slowly jam things out until the album eventually fades to a finish. A pretty cool way to play Bob Dylan and a pretty good way to finish things off.

That is the end of "Renegades" and I thought it was a pretty good cover album by Rage Against The Machine. There were some odd and unusual parts since there was no original music, but most of this album still sounded like a Rage album and it was pretty good overall I thought, especially for a cover album. I don't think it lives up to any of their own music, but it was still good for sure! This is sadly the end of the road for Rage Against The Machine, but they were a one-of-a-kind band with a lasting impact!

Rage Against The Machine
1. Rage Against The Machine
2. The Battle Of Los Angeles
3. Evil Empire
4. Renegades