Rage Against the Machine

Så sick

Troede slet ikke, det ville holde i dag, men det gør det godt nok

4.5

Dios sabe que lo intenté.

The kind of music Little Timmy listens to when his mum doesn't let him have ice cream for breakfast

Loved this album in high school and love it now.

Perfection. 100000/10. No notes. I just wish they were here now making music when we really need them the most! 😭

It is such an energetic album. The politically-themed angst throughout the album is even more so relevant as time passes.

8/10 [KEEP]

This was really quite good for corporate America rock.

Favorite track(s): Killing in the Name

Wasn't impressed by this. de la Rocha's whiny vocals go a bit over the top and adds to the reputation that RATM fell out of touch with "the kids". Morello does pretty good, though. Also his uncle invented Kenya or some shit?

Revisiting this album, it's crazy how spot on and important the hardcore political stuff still feels. Tim Commerford's killer bass and Tom Morello's guitar are insane, making a huge sound that goes perfect with Zack's ferocious, passionate vocals. It is an absolute powerhouse of a debut that immediately hooks you and gets your blood pumping, serving as the ultimate high-energy soundtrack whether you are trying to get psyched up for a heavy workout or feeling righteously angry at systemic injustice.

At the same time, listening to it with modern eyes brings a deep sense of cynicism and irony that is hard to ignore. There is an undeniable contradiction in a fiercely anti-capitalist, anti-establishment message being produced and heavily profited from by a massive corporate entity like Sony. While the raw, unfiltered anger and aggressive protest songs completely rock on a visceral level, the lack of an actual plan for change makes the revolution feel a bit like a commodified societal release valve. It is a masterpiece of focused rage that completely stands the test of time musically, even if it leaves you realizing that most of us, including the band members living comfortably overlooking the machine, are ultimately just hypocrites navigating the very system we are yelling at.

Sounds a little dated today. It's fine, but every 90s album should be about 20% shorter.

I really enjoyed Tom Morello's guitar work. KITNO and Know Your Enemy are particular highlights. But it gets really repetitive.

This slaps hard. Lyrics still relevant today, maybe even more so. 5/5

I really like the messages in this album and how clear they are. I also like their sound.

Some amazing songs. There's a huge amount of power in this but it gets a little bit lost in chugga-chicka-wugga towards the end. The bass in the quieter moments (like Settle for Nothing) reminded me of Slint!

Déjà écouté.

Près de 35 ans plus tard, les indignations de RATM semblent toujours aussi actuelles, même si l'album est peut-être un peu trop long et monocorde pour son propre bien. Reste les éructations incandescentes de Zack de la Rocha, les guitares malmenées de Tom Morello et la basse funky trash de Tim Commerford. Maintes fois imité, jamais égalé.

Top : Killing in the Name
Flop : Freedom

Raw, emotional, political. Sparse yet dense sonically. This is a group and album that are aptly named. Its not a perfect album (which is what 5 stars means) with a couple of clumsy songs in there but its damn close. Truly something that reflects a place and time, I don't know that you could get away with releasing this today and it being a hit which is a shame.

This hits harder if you listen to it sporadically.

My brother-in-law is a devout Mormon — conservative personally and in some ways politically, though he most avoids the subject. Hates Trump but probably voted for Romney. Anyway, his one detail that doesn’t quite fit the stereotype is that he grew up listening to metal in the 80s and 90s and still loves it (though I think his wife doesn’t let the kids listen to it). We were talking about Rage one day and he said, “You know, their message is still really needed, because there is a lot of injustice and racism in this world.”

I like this story because for every kid that wore Che Guevara T-shirts in Rage’s heyday, there were also may more casual listeners who were trying to figure out what it was all about. And I think even those who wouldn’t espouse socialism received Rage’s message as a kind of inoculation against the casual conformist racism of the late 20th century. Even those who might not support the Zapatistas could see that there is something to “WAKE UP” about.

My son listened to a bit of this while I was playing it in the car. He said “These guys are really mad!” I said “Yeah, this is Rage Against the Machine. They didn’t write songs about love or dancing, they wrote songs about fixing what’s wrong with the world.” He nodded along with the beat, thinking about what that might mean for him.

Anyway, they’re timeless, they’re incendiary, they still rock, they’re still waking people up. And the need is certainly still there.

Great. Exceeded expectations. For some reason, I didn't pay enough attention in the nineties. Killing in the name, Take the power back (love the bass), Settle for nothing (that guitar after minute 3), Bullet in the head... All tracks are great. Great and powerful lyrics, distinct sound (unique guitar sound), great singing... You can really feel the rage. Even the album cover is amazing. 5 stars.

The self-titled debut by Rage Against the Machine often feels like a blueprint for what would later be labeled nu metal, blending heavy riffs with rap-influenced vocals and a strong rhythmic drive. The band sounds focused and powerful, with a clear identity from the very start.

At the same time, the relentless intensity can become tiring over the course of the album. The lack of variation makes it harder to stay fully engaged, even if the individual tracks are effective on their own.

Clearly some songs are classics. I can understand why some critics have this in their top 100. But, this is not something I can see myself reaching for.

Це все ще супер класика, жодної слабкої пісні. Як би я не відносився до їхньої позиції, музично це геніально.

(але за позицію півбала зніму)