Rage's Empire

While Hound Dog Taylor made feel the Boogie, Rage Against The Machine makes me feel like a man on a mission to save the world. The sound of Hound Dog is primal and most of all a natural sound. Rage's sound is a sound that is loud, blinding and deafening. Rage also makes music to make you get up and change the world. Tom Morello who's guitar god status is worthy of anyone out there. His playing is a sight to see. My Rage Against The Machine following started in 1993. I just picked up the first album and saw the striking image of the Buddhist Monk on Fire to to protest the war in Vietnam. It was enough of an image to get my and many others attention. This band was like that Buddhist Monk in many ways.

One way was the protest music that Rage talked about and the other was it was like the music was on fire. It's amazing catchy and Zack's vocals/rapping was pretty awe inspiring. I went to a small club to see them promoting there first album. Not headliners, but opening with another somewhat revolutionary rap act called Cypress Hill. Rage only played for about 45 minutes, but that is all I really needed to be convinced.



While watching Rage on stage I realized that the band was extremely talented. The drummer did better drumming fills then I have ever seen. The bass was loud, but not to overpower vocals or guitar parts. The guitar player was spot on with solos and using his imagination to make some sound I have never heard before. Lastly, the lyrics were very good and political and made you think. I walked out of the club thinking how great they were, but still thinking that they would not make it famous. I was dead wrong. I mean who wants to hear this kind of music now, 1993. We still never got over Pearl Jam at this point and moreover did we need more kind of music to listen to. Well, MTV made us reevaluate everything we heard or needed to hear. The golden age of what was out there was now on MTV lap and they made Rage famous.

MTV carried Rage till the next album came out. It was more loud and less of what MTV wanted to hear. MTV carried one song if I recall from the second album and sadly it was to late, Rage had a bigger fan base. Myself, on the other hand I wanted to see them with more maturity and most of all just how great they sounded. I bought the second album with so much excitement. My friend and I listened to it and were blown away. This time when they toured they were headliners. They played with none other then Wu-Tang Clan a Hip-Hop group with incredible skill at rapping and huge giant hooks.



Evil Empire to me is their best. There are a few reasons behind this. If you listen closely everything is magnified. It's like they just enlarged them to a billion times of what they were and added a bunch of smart food. Listen closely on how Tom's Guitar, Zak's vocals, Brad's Drums and Tim's Bass. How great it sounds as a whole. Everything is miked so well, and is so amazing they are at their best. The second is their influence is so pronounced on this album. You may ask what is their influence. Look at the booklet on Evil Empire. Pay attention to all those books in the spread. Each is a book of protest or some kind of influential literature. My friend and I studied that part of the booklet and tried to pick up every book that was showcased.

I won't tell you what song to go after and listen to, but I will tell you that every song is a gem. I like them all, and I listen to the album once every six months just to hear how it makes sense that it is never outdated. It probably is the most rebellious album since Kick Out The Jams by MC5.

At this point I tell you reason to listen, but I won't tell you anything except this; If you don't own it, get it. If you do own it, play it loud and play it proud. If you know someone who plays this album ask them if they know what they are talking about on Evil Empire. Enjoy a loud crash, and in the immortal words of Zak..."Fear is your only god"