Rage Against the Machine [PA] (CD - 1992)

Additional personnel: Maynard James Keenan (background vocals).

Engineers: Stan Katayama, GGGarth, Auburn Burell.

Recorded at Sound City, Van Nuys, California; Scream Studios, Studio City, California; Industrial Recording, North Hollywood, California.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE is a collection of live concert videos and uncensored versions of 5 original videos.

Personnel: Maynard James Keenan, Zack de la Rocha (vocals); Tom Morello (guitar); Brad Wilk (drums); Stephen Perkins (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Andy Wallace.

Recording information: Industrial Recording, North Hollywood, CA; Scream Studios, Studio City, CA; Sound City Studios, Van Nuys, CA.

Arranger: Rage Against the Machine.

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. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia

Rage Against the Machine released this self-titled DVD in 1997. The disc collects live concert footage and music videos of some of their best material. Rage Against the Machine starts with a passionate rendition of Bruce Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad" live from the Irvine Meadows in Irvine, CA. The well-filmed performance captures Rage near the top of their game. (Will listeners ever see a collection that includes the concert from the Democratic Convention?) Seeing Zack de la Rocha interact with a large crowd and the band work a tight, incendiary groove is required to understand the appeal of the now-defunct political rock band. This is underscored by "People of the Sun" and four other songs live from the Rock Am Ring Festival in Germany, where Rage plays before what must be 100,000 people. Rage Against the Machine also includes three songs from the 1996 Redding Festival and a blistering "Killing in the Name Of" from the 1994 Pink Pop Festival. The second half of the DVD is filled with six music videos, including "Freedom" and "Memory of the Dead (Land and Liberty)." Overall, the quality of the video is fine, but the music mix is low and a bit muddy. This is a problem for viewers who want to understand every word de la Rocha says. But there is a lyrics function, which is like subtitling. What musical crispness they lack in concert, Rage makes up for in intensity and energy. The real plus of the collection is that the videos are the uncensored versions, so getting this collection is not like replicating an MTV experience. The best moment of the DVD is a concert appearance by Tom Morello's mother, who plugs boycotting record stores that censor albums and introduces the "best band in the f*cking universe: Rage Against the Machine!" A must-own for fans of Rage Against the Machine and a useful 80 minutes for people who are complacent politically. ~ JT Griffith

On paper, Rage Against The Machine reads like Beavis, Boogie Down Productions and Butt-Head: an angry and enlightened rap frontman who preaches a multi-cultural alternative to what they teach you in schools and show you on TV, backed by a funky heavy metal rhythm section whose vampage and riffing pay direct tribute to the likes of the Edgar Winter Group and Led Zeppelin.

But there's no sense of fusion here. Neither a metal band toying with rap nor a rap group fronting as a rock band, R.A.T.M. is four guys who were never told that there's a difference, and who don't care to know. The knowledge-is-good-but-schools-are-bad rap, "Take The Power Back," gives way to a metal instrumental bridge; and the guitar that introduces the Martin/Malcolm/Cassius homage, "Wake Up," pays its own tribute to Zeppelin's "Kashmir." The closest spiritual--but not stylistic--reference point are the alternative raps of the Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy; and Rage's "Bullet In The Head" may be the best song about TV since the Heroes' "Television, The Drug Of The Nation."

Rapper Zack De La Rocha has a thin voice that sounds more like a bored suburban thrasher than an inner-city rhyme animal, but his lyrics are something else altogether. Rising high above the nihilism of both hard-core rap and punk, he offers not just good slogans for a t-shirt, but the promise of a system to replace the one he's bent on destroying. His is a revolution with a purpose. minimize