Rage Against the Machine
Evil Empire

THE REVIEW

The follow-up to the acclaimed self-titled debut album saw the light in 1996, four years after the debut. From the cover alone, one can understand how RATM, instead of selling out and being crushed by the music industry, have remained true to their (radical) positions: a boy with blond hair and blue eyes dressed as Superman with an "e" on his chest; the title, however, quotes a phrase from former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who used it ("Evil Empire") to describe the Soviet Union.

Musically, among the 3 RATM albums, this is the one I appreciate the least: the first and "The Battle of Los Angeles" were very rock-oriented and immediate; this one, however, despite the unaltered hardness and compactness of the sound, results in more repetitive rhythmic structures and leans closer to rap. Morello, with his guitar, gives us a perfect showcase of his skills with effects, but leaves out the anthemic hard-rock riffs that make the other albums real explosive bombs. Also on a high note are the performances of Brad Wilk on drums and Tim Bob on bass, although the one who leaves the most impact is undoubtedly Zack de la Rocha, as angry as ever and even more so than usual, who with his declamatory and shouted voice, talks about everything that was wrong in the world, from exploitation to capitalism to the now-shattered American dream.

The album opens with "People of the Sun", a brief track that had already been performed during the tour for the first album. The lyrics address the exploitation of Latin American peoples, a theme dear to Zack since he too has Latin American origins. Another classic of the group follows, "Bulls on Parade", a medium-slow track with sudden hard surges. As always, excellent work by Morello (just listen to the scratch solo) and by Zack, who screams like a madman at the end of the song. The same template repeats in "Vietnow", which features a very slow and cadenced middle part, highlighted by a pessimistic phrase from Zack, "Is all tha world jails and churches?" If you think Morello can no longer surprise you, you're wrong: in the first 40 seconds of "Revolver", he pulls out stunning, vaguely psychedelic sounds from his guitar, only to then dive back into the usual frontal assault. "Revolver" is another masterpiece of the album, where softly whispered verses transition into a thunderous chorus in which Zack discusses domestic violence suffered by women at the hands of their husbands ("Hey revolver, don't mothers make Good fathers? Revolver").

The drums introduce "Snakecharmer", another quick and direct track, where it's sarcastically advised to set aside ideals and think only of serving, "So Have No Illusion Boy, Vomit Up All Ideals And Serve, Sleep And Wake, And Serve, Don't Think Just Wake And Serve". "Tire Me" has an almost hardcore pace and is dedicated to the memory of Jackie Onassis, the unforgettable wife of J.F. Kennedy, who died two years before the album's release. Another key track of the album is "Down Rodeo", a long piece that varies mood and speed several times, in which this time Morello seems to simulate the sound of a synth, with a splendid chorus, "These people ain't seen a brown skin man, Since their grandparents bought one". A bass line, the usual incredible sound of Morello, and Zack's shrill voice dominate "Without a Face", with a chorus in the usual RATM style, fast and uncompromising. In "Wind Below", both NAFTA, the North American economic agreement, called "Tha New Disaster", and the world of information (ABCe NBC) and entertainment (Disney) are criticized. The evil empire surrounds us with its lies and cultural and media servitude. At the end of the album, we find "Roll Right", with Latin percussion, and "Year of tha Boomerang", which like the opener is an already known track, as it was on the group's first demo, and deals with the theme of prison and the death penalty.

Ultimately, the least varied and engaging album of Morello & Co. when compared to the other 2, but still a great album in comparison to other crossover productions.

RATING = 7