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Rage Against The Machine

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Rage Against The Machine

 
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Rage Against The Machine
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Avg: 4.5 (281 ratings)

  • Date Released: November 3, 1992
  • Genre: Rock/Pop
  • Style: Pop
  • Label: Epic
  • Copyright: (P) 1992 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Shameless agitprop still packs a potent, bratty punch

  • We Say...

    Review by Jess Harvell

    Though their music and their politics would grow more effective as they grew more nuanced, Rage Against the Machine's self-titled 1992 debut still packs a certain bratty rush. That gleefully inchoate — and occasionally just plain boneheaded — rebellious streak is best captured by the utterly shameless, profanity-heavy, eighth-grade-level agit-prop delivered at the end of "Killing in the Name." A beyond-blunt kiss-off to any and all authority figures, it remains Rage's most iconic nine-word statement, for better or worse.

    But if Zach De La Rocha is still a little too comfortable complaining about a generic "system" this early in the band's career, his three bandmates help him sell the vague admonishments to big government (and bigger business) with fusions both of-their-time and prophetic. The slap-bass and pogo-stick grooves of "Take the Power Back" and "Bullet in the Head" are closer to peppy, turn-of-the-'90s California party-metal than the brawny, funk-informed heaviness of the band's later albums. But guitarist Tom Morello had already happened upon his classic mix of hip-hop-informed texture (the sonar-esque squeals on "Bullet in the Head") and straight-up hard rock raunch (the near-southern rock riff that boogies lead-footed through "Bombtrack").

    Some of the lesser-known tracks actually contain some of the album's best music, and Morello's most forceful playing: the chunky metallic twang of "Fistful of Steel"; the near-psychedelic, reverb-glazed dirge "Township Rebellion"; and the surprisingly atmospheric "Settle for Nothing," which merges the "extended psychotic breakdown" howling of Rollins-era Black Flag over a leaden groove squalling with feedback. It's the invention of the deep cuts that gives RATM a life beyond the historically weighted tracks that made the band's name.

  • They Say...

    Review by Eduardo Rivadavia, All Music Guide

    Probably the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal, Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut was groundbreaking enough when released in 1992, but many would argue that it has yet to be surpassed in terms of influence and sheer brilliance -- though countless bands have certainly tried. This is probably because the uniquely combustible creative relationship between guitar wizard Tom Morello and literate rebel vocalist Zack de la Rocha could only burn this bright, this once. While the former's roots in '80s heavy metal shredding gave rise to an inimitable array of six-string acrobatics and rhythmic special effects (few of which anyone else has managed to replicate), the latter delivered meaningful rhymes with an emotionally charged conviction that suburban white boys of the ensuing nu-metal generation could never hope to touch. As a result, syncopated slabs of hard rock insurrection like "Bombtrack," "Take the Power Back," and "Know Your Enemy" were as instantly unforgettable as they were astonishing. Yet even they paled in comparison to veritable clinics in the art of slowly mounting tension such as "Settle for Nothing," "Bullet in the Head," and the particularly venomous "Wake Up" (where Morello revises Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" riff for his own needs) -- all of which finally exploded with awesome power and fury. And even listeners who were unable (or unwilling) to fully process the band's unique clash of muscle and intellect were catered to, as RATM were able to convey their messages through stubborn repetition via the fundamental challenge of "Freedom" and their signature track, "Killing in the Name," which would become a rallying cry of disenfranchisement, thanks to its relentlessly rebellious mantra of "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!" Ultimately, if there's any disappointment to be had with this near-perfect album, it's that it still towers above subsequent efforts as the unequivocal climax of Rage Against the Machine's vision. As such, it remains absolutely essential.

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