Review by Saxy S for Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1992)

When you think of rap rock, I'm sure most of us probably think of nu-metal and the horrible stench left by bands such as Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Linkin Park among others. But those roots are actually entrenched in metal long before nu-metal became big in the late 90s/early 2000s. Faith No More started, and then there was Rage Against the Machine (RATM). They were clearly influenced by punk rock, but that didn't stop them from getting pretty damn heavy.

Starting off with "Killing In The Name", these riffs are filthy. Tom Morello takes the instrument and does things with it that you might have expected to hear on a Joe Satriani or Steve Vai album. And because of this, the bass lines are plentiful and give this album some incredible rhythm. If I may use a term that we use a lot in funk, these grooves are fat. Zach de la Rocha genuinely sounds pissed on this track as he howls the lyrics (and that's before the final chorus). 

And this carries on throughout the album. "Take The Power Back", "Bullet In The Head", "Know Your Enemy" and "Wake Up" are awesome standouts. They are anthemic and ballsy as well. So why does it work? Well, compared to many other rap-rock bands that came later, the lyricism is not littered with men in their twenties/thirties who still act like children. The drama is petty and very immature. RATM meanwhile, are political revolutionaries, perhaps even more so than the heaviest hardcore punk bands: Dead Kennedys, Descendants, hell even Discharge and Husker Du. And rap is the only way in which they can make their message. And they have to; there is no subtlety on display here. This might be one of the most blunt and in your face politically charged albums ever made.

For the reasons mentioned above, this album can be a tough sell to a lot of people. It also does make for a very challenging listening experience, even if you are prepared for it. It isn't a brutal record, but it is poignant, anthemic, and it can start one hell of a pit. It's too bad what rap-metal would become later on, but this album still slaps and a stark reminder of what this genre could sound like.