Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
Released November 2nd, 1999
Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, Brad Wilk
Genre: Nu-metal
Intro
I do not dabble much into Rage besides the occasional major hit, so I'm going into this album completely blind. Rage is a band I want to explore a little more of, just because they have a lot of punk rock elements that I can appreciate. Sick ass guitar, shouty yelly lyrics, that kind of thing. Also Tom Morello is a fucking legend and makes sounds that I didn't even think was possible on guitar. What do I think of this all time famous band? Let's take a look.
Thoughts & Feelings?
Shoutout to my dad who is a huge RATM fan. He was at the concert in Toronto where Tom Morello got tackled by a security guard on stage. That was pretty fucking wild lmao.
This album makes me feel like when your nephew comes over and wants to spend time with you because you're the cool uncle, but you're in the middle of making an album and you're forced to include him so you give him some weird ass instruments and he makes the most ridiculous sounding songs and you REALLY don't wanna include them in your tracks but you kind of have to otherwise you'll feel bad. Anyway don't ask me to elaborate further, I don't know man.
Smash or Pass?
Testify - SMASH. This band is always way heavier than I remember. The harsh vocals are so great, the groovy back and forth guitar is pretty fucking good. This song is great but I don't think I'd put it in my playlist just because of that weird ass droning in the background of the verses. That just throws me off a little bit and makes me slightly uncomfortable. Pretty good though. As per usual, the weirdest fucking sounding guitar solo of all time from Mr. Morello, absolutely wild and pretty sick. This song is pretty fucking catchy though.
Guerrilla Radio - SMASH. This is the only song I really know going into this album, and even then- I don't know this song all that much. It's fucking crazy good though. I absolutely love the use of the wah pedal by Tom here, that shit is pretty sick in the back of the verses. This song is super groovy and I would easily put this into my playlist. The solo is kind of fucking... bad? It's just strange and sounds like a bunch of little critters singing which is kind of weird. But yeah whatever that's interesting at least. I fucking LOVE after the solo though, this song goes fucking hard.
Calm Like a Bomb - Smash. This song is interesting for sure. Tom Morello coming in strong on this one. Is that the bass, too? The FUCK is going on with the instruments in this song? Shit is pretty wild right now. I'm not super into this song because Tom like... it's a BIT excessive bruv. Whatever though it's a good song. I would LOVE to see this one played live because it must look fucking weirdly sick.
Mic Check - Smash. I'm NOT into rap / hip hop or anything like that, so I'm not crazy into this song. This definitely has more of those vibes than the punk rock / metal vibe I'm used to. There are a lot of weird songs in the second half though that I'm super into. That shit is kinda crazy kinda weird. There are a lot of strange sounds that are in this song that I like a lot but overall, not a better or funkier song than the first 2 songs of this album.
Sleep Now In the Fire - SMAASSHH. HERE WE GO BABY. This is the kind of shit I was hoping for. This shit is GROOVY AS ALL FUCKING HELL. This is definitely my favourite song on this album so far. It's a perfect mix of catchy, groovy, punky, everything else you need. This song is great and I'm surprised it's not the most popular song on this album. That fucking riff that keeps on playing is catchy as all fuck. This GOD DAMN SOLO TOO it feels like fucking pipe cleaners are somehow magnetized enough to be heard through pickups.
Born of a Broken Man - SMASH. This is a strange song. It's REALLY good though. It's very soft and slow and ominous at some points and then it just explodes out into the heaviest shit you'll ever hear. It's fucking awesome. This song I was absolutely not expecting. It is super down and goes crazy during the chorus. It's kind of strange but also fucking cool. I love this one a lot. Oh MAN the guitar in this fucking song is actually fucking insane.
Born As Ghosts - Smash. I was really excited going into this one but then all of a sudden it was ruined by the vocals and this weird dude in the background saying blood or something, I have no idea. It's fucking weird. Like this song is kinda cool but also terrible to listen to. It got way better during the chorus but not enough to make up for the awful verses.
Maria - Smash. I can't stand the ear killing drone in this one but other than that it sounds pretty decent. I just really want the droning to stop cause it's making me feel sick, thank god they stopped it. Yeah this song is pretty decent, despite that opening fumble. FUCK it's back.
Voice of the Voiceless - SMASH. I really like this song. Unlike the last one, this has some weird ass sounds that are kinda interesting and I don't mind as much. As weird of sounds these guys make, at least they're experimenting and trying new shit. I have high respect for that. Yeah this song goes pretty hard though.
New Millennium Homes - SMASH, WHAT THE FUCK? That was a cool transition that I thought I was still listening to the same song. I fucking love this song. This is probably going to be my #3 just based on how cool the intro was, I was so not expecting the song to transition into this. It's pretty fucking awesome.
Ashes In the Fall - Smash. I don't really know anymore, man. This song is... meh. I'm not super into it. If you like it then that's great but I don't like it.
War Within a Breath - Smash. This song sounds like what goes on inside of a frog. This also sounds kind of like a Linkin Park song during the verses. Never heard a Linkin Park album so that would be a good thing to explore. Anyway yeah this song is decent. I could listen to it again.
Conclusion
Rage is a band I really want to get into just because they are pretty fucking badass, and Tom Morello is a guitar god. This album is great, but I wish they just like... listened to the weird ass sounds they were making for one second and tried to put themselves in my shoes- I'm listening to this and thinking fuck my ears hurt, because you're literally stabbing my fucking ears with some of these weird ass sounds. ANYWAY whatever, Rage is a great band, this is a great album, I don't have much more to say after that.
RANK: B+
What do you guys think? Is this album too much for you or are you a weird ass sound lover? Let me know in the comments below. Happy Thursday everyone, love y'all.
- Sharky
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