By the time my love affair with the
bass began to burgeon, I was already a hardcore fan of the hip-hop/metal hybrid
that was Rage Against the Machine. My first two years of learning the bass
involved incessant spinning of all records Rage, working my fingers into and
through callus after callus to emulate Tim Commerford. Even now,
there is nary a day where I pick up my bass without finding my way along one of
Rage Against the Machine's aggressive riffs, evoking memories all the teenaged
angst and hormonal heaviness that coursed through me as I struggled to learn
those basslines. In a fit of desperate (but not unwelcome) nostalgia, I threw
into rotation my favorite RATM album, Evil Empire, and quickly found
that it has not just held up to thirteen-year-old Ryan's assessment, but far
surpassed it.
Although written in a relatively short
(and allegedly tumultuous) period of time,[1] the sound
of Evil Empire feels far more calculated than most records. Rage Against
the Machine has always been in a genre of their own, simultaneously
encompassing the sonic territories of metal, punk, and hip-hop and simply
killing it. Serious attention has been given to the aesthetic of every riff and
line: Tom Morello's scratchy chords and grating turntable-esque solo in
"Bulls on Parade" encapsulate the feel of underground hip-hop, while
the band's heavy riffing on the choruses of "Roll Right" and "Snakecharmer," coupled
with Zack de la Rocha's almost antagonistic screams, feel pulled right off the
stage of a hardcore punk show. Every second of this record shows all four
members of RATM operating as a seamless unit, acting and reacting as one as
they shatter every genre boundary they approach.
Rage’s accomplished and deft
musicianship is certainly showcased in its composition, but the true focus of Evil
Empire is the intensity of the band's performance. Zack de la Rocha's
vocals flare forth from his body like fireworks; his voice is vehement and
wracked with emotion, perfectly capturing the ire of his words as he screams
lines like the refrain of "Revolver:" "Don't mothers make good
fathers?”[2] Similarly,
Tom Morello's guitar work, while inevitably straying into the insanity of
effects that is his signature, is more often focused through explosive chords
and riotous riffing that go off like grenades, such as in the outro of
"Wind Below." His attention to guitar tone allows him to simulate a
faultless synthesizer in "Down Rodeo" as easily as he rips through a
metallic 5/4 riff in "Year of tha Boomerang," slipping into hip-hop here and there and filling the rest with
undiluted rock.
De la Rocha and Morello bring the
texturing and tension to Evil Empire, but for me, it is the indomitable
rhythm section of Tim Commerford and Brad
Wilk that really move the music. Commerford slams the
notes out of his bass strings, his low tone snarling with overdrive and
wrapping themselves around Wilk's solid hits and frantic fills. The intensity
inherent in "Snakecharmer" and
"Vietnow" is
reinforced by this duo's effortless synchronicity, while the slash-beats and
rhythmic changes on the drums in "Tire Me," coupled with Commerford's ferocious
bass, shove the spotlight directly onto the sidemen. Although Wilk and Commerford can just as
easily groove in the hip-hop vein as their treble counterparts, it is from the
rhythm section that the rock really pours forth.
With such dynamic and groundbreaking
instrumentation as this record sports, only writing of a higher caliber could
complete a picture as detailed as Evil Empire, and Zack de la Rocha does
not disappoint. Zack blends poetry and politics into his penetrating vocal
style, controlling his emotion with whispers, exuding it in his singing, and
hurling it towards the listener in irate shouts and screams. Every word drips
with fury, and while managing that alone is admirable, the meanings behind the
words are even more focused, more vital, than their delivery.
Far from squandering his talent with
the pen, de la Rocha admirably lends his voice to issues far bigger than the
usual musician. Being that Rage Against the Machine has always been a political
outfit with a “mission to expose their community and generation to real issues,”[3] Zack entirely
avoids personal topics in his lyrics, instead sharpening his writing into a
sword for fighting injustice and ignorance. Rather than painting obscure scenes
or vague atmosphere, his words dive into the darkness of the world and force it
to rear its hideous head; in lines like “the gut eaters, blood drenched,”[4] Zack’s
images embrace the horror and force the listener to know it as a reality.
Furthermore, he then calls his listeners to action with the insistent “now it’s
upon you” in “Year of tha Boomerang”[5] or the
urgent “don’t freeze when zero hour come” in “Roll Right,”[6] reminding
us that each and every person is affected by these matters.
While de la Rocha addresses a wide variety of important topics including gang violence and
racism, the writing on Evil Empire is
primarily focused on the theme of the Zapatista movement, an issue close to
Zack’s heart and one in which he has been personally involved.[7] Songs like “People of theSun” portrays the oppression of the Zapatistas,[8] comparing their struggle
to that of the Aztec empire under the rule of the invading Spaniards, while
“Vietnow” attacks right-wing U.S. media for its lack of fair coverage on the
issue.[9]
In
a 1998 interview, Zack stated that “through… our song's lyrics we have placed
within reach of young people, our audience, the experiences of the Zapatistas.”[10] Zack’s proximity to the
movement bleeds from both his words and his voice, asserting his honest
connection with the Zapatistas’ struggle and his true desire to see justice
served. And though lines like “while the gut eaters strain to pull the mud from
their mouths / they force our ears to go deaf to the screams in the south”[11] may drip of metaphor, he
ensures that not a drop of sincerity is lost in translation from problem to
poetry, because his writing and music have one simple purpose: to “give space
and volume to various struggles throughout the country and the world.”[12]
After
blasting Evil Empire in my car for
weeks, I am hardly surprised at how well it has held up, both for my memory and
my musical tastes. Rage Against the Machine throws all their anger and
intensity through the speakers, a signature sound that, for all its
idiosyncrasies, just does not grow stale. And while thirteen-year-old Ryan
could hardly wrap his head around the political layers of lyrics, my (relative)
maturation and increased awareness of some of the issues presented on Evil Empire allows for a deeper
connection to the songs, specifically to the honesty inherent in RATM’s message.
All in all, Evil Empire is a record
that has only become more powerful since I first heard it, and that fact alone
is far more refreshing than any bid of nostalgia.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Tire Me
2) Bulls on Parade
3) Snakecharmer
