Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles (1999)

Having successfully fused music and politics from their start, inspiring both moshing and young minds in the process, Rage Against the Machine emerges in peak form with merely their third album in seven years. Guitarist Tom Morello is one of the most distinctive and innovative players of his era, and his foil, vocalist/lyricist Zack De La Rocha, is as unrelenting and inspiring as ever on The Battle of Los Angeles. Rage, whose past antics include performing naked with duct tape over their mouths to protest censorship, released Battle on Election Day, but the politics of the group can be separated from the sounds. Indeed, the 45 minutes of mayhem heard here can be enjoyed solely as rousing aggro hip-hop rock. There's more variety found on Battle than on its predecessors, however. "Sleep Now in the Fire" is one of their most straight-ahead rock tunes. The trippy guitar on "Calm Like a Bomb" is out there even for the adventurous Morello. And "Born a Broken Man" serves up lovely musical interludes. Overall, the more finely honed Rage heard on Battle may not inspire a generation of young revolutionaries, but they still stir up more mutinous spirit than the rest of the current rock pack. --Katherine Turman 01 - Rage Against The Machine - Testify - The Battle Of Los Angeles 02 - Rage Against The Machine - Guerrilla Radio - The Battle Of Los Angeles 03 - Rage Against The Machine - Calm Like A Bomb - The Battle Of Los Angeles 04 - Rage Against The Machine - Mic Check - The Battle Of Los Angeles 05 - Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire - The Battle Of Los Angeles 06 - Rage Against The Machine - Born Of A Broken Man - The Battle Of Los Angeles 07 - Rage Against The Machine - Born As Ghosts - The Battle Of Los Angeles 08 - Rage Against The Machine - Maria - The Battle Of Los Angeles 09 - Rage Against The Machine - Voice Of The Voiceless - The Battle Of Los Angeles 10 - Rage Against The Machine - New Millennium Homes - The Battle Of Los Angeles 11 - Rage Against The Machine - Ashes In The Fall - The Battle Of Los Angeles