When the Los Angeles rap metal quartet Rage Against The Machine appeared on the scene in 1992 with their spectacular debut album, they seemed to usher in a revolutionary future for guitar music. Unfortunately, the success of that album was not immediately exploited, as four years passed before their next album, Evil Empirearrived in 1996.
Although it was later rated as the most underrated and experimental album Rage Against The Machine, Evil Empire never drew the masses like their debut. At the end of the tour, the band members went their separate ways. During that period, the guitarist Tom Morello has participated in various collaborations with musicians such as The Prodigy and Henry Rollins, while being a vocalist Zack de la Rocha went to Chiapas, Mexico to support the Zapatista liberation group.
When they Rage Against The Machine returned in 1999, the musical landscape found itself different. Their innovative blend of hard rock and early ’90s rap was diluted by b-list nu metal bands and became the commercial norm. Tom Morello later admitted that, willingly or not, they “planted the seeds” for the nu metal genre. Their next album, The Battle of Los Angeleswas a response to this pressure and proof of their importance on the music scene.
In the mid-90s, the band found itself in a turbulent period. Tour with Wu-Tang Clanom often encountered problems with the police, who wanted to stop the concerts because of the alleged violent politics of both bands. In the end, Wu-Tang Clan has given up on the tour. At a concert at Woodstock 1999, Rage burned an American flag on stage, which was one of the more controversial moments.
Apart from all this, the band members were busy with different projects. After release Evil Empirethe only new music was a cover of a Bruce Springsteen song The Ghost of Tom Joad i pesma No Shelter for the 1998 film soundtrack. When they finally got together in 1998 with producer Brendan O’Brien, they weren’t sure what would come out of those sessions.
Despite the tension between the members, the album The Battle of Los Angeles was released in 1999 and immediately won the first place on the American Billboard list. Critics praised him, and Rolling Stone described it as “the rap metal version of what it is It Takes a Nation of Millions… was for hip-hop”.
The album showed why their legacy lives on, while many nu metal bands of the time have been forgotten. Unfortunately, the band folded soon after as de la Rocha left the band, concluding that the decision-making process no longer met their shared goals.
Their last original material stands as a testament to their unique genius, confirming why the void they left has never been filled.
Source: balkanrock.com
