"The power and the fury of the music comes through louder than bombs!"
Rage Against The Machine
Evil Empire
"...designed to focus anger, elevate energy and boil blood!"
Rage Against The Machine spent four years making Evil Empire. Their second studio album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The song "Tire Me" won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The tracks "Bulls on Parade" and "People of the Sun" were also both nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance.
No matter if Rage Against The Machine amounts to revolutionary rap, protest metal, or a combination of the two, the band's command of sonic rage makes Evil Empire a powerful assault in any musical language. Zack de la Rocha's rubbery, punk-edged rapping, Tom Morello's snarling arsenal of power chords, distressed squeals, bleeps and shudders and the unshakable Tim Bob/Brad Wilk rhythm section create a hurtling, hammering sound that sweeps you into its momentum.
RATM's dedication to decidedly left-wing politics is admirable. Rage's lyrics approach the timeless leftist foes with fiery freshness. RATM's rage and contempt for the "system" hadn't declined in the nearly half-decade they were away tilting at the standard windmills of global capitalism, racism, homophobia and what have you. Gladly, their musical approach didn't change, either.
The album was certified 3x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
