Bulls on Parade

NUMBER FIVE


Rage Against the Machine / Rage Against the Machine
1992 / 10 Tracks


The first time I ever heard of (and saw for the first time) RAGE was at a House of Pain
show in TJ with Spork and a my GF at the time. We were ready for HOP but soooooo
unprepared for the opening band that set the bar for every band after that for
putting on a great live show (Probably the BEST LIVE act I have ever seen).

From the thick bass line of Tim C. and thundering drums of Brad Wilk, the album
starts with "Bombtrack" like a shot of adrenaline to the heart. With Zack de la Rocha
yelling out "Burn, Burn, Yes you're gonna Burn!", the CD doesn't let up one bit.

"Killing in the Name Of" (My favorite RATM track of all time) takes you on a journey of a
modern day revolution. The guitar really shows off Tom Morello's guitar work
(which is now legendary!) that leads into Zack's chant "Fuck You, I won't do what you tell me!!!"

The funk level of "Take the Power Back" rocks you back to days of the Black Panther
party and late 60's revolutionaries like Huey Newton. The screeching guitar work and
funky bass makes this song memorable.

From the screaming on "Settle for Nothing" takes you directly into "Bullet in your Head".
The thumping and popping of this drum driven track, lead into the great guitar work.
I LOVE this song and they bring it when performing it live. Also a great song to get
the crowd to sing along.

At :36 seconds into "Know your Enemy", you know what you are getting - a hard rocking,
kick in the head song that doesn't let up.

The end of the album is as strong as the beginning with the tracks "Wake Up", "Fistful of Steel",
"Township Rebellion" & "Freedom".

There is still a big void left since RATM broke up. I have been lucky enough to see them
a handful of time. This album holds up in many ways but mainly because it rocks like
nothing else that was out at the time.

8.5 / 10