Rage Against the Machine

Although not quite as incendiary as their debut, Rage Against the Machine's third effort, Battle of Los Angeles, has enough vitriol in its deep grooves to earn high marks. Songs such as "Testify" and "Guerilla Radio" are bracing, impassioned rallies delivered with an insatiable desire to affect change. Battle… is certainly a highlight in the band's career.

Have you ever tried writing your own Rage Against the Machine song? It's easy. Just grab a
religious pamphlet off the street. Replace the word God with killing, Jesus or Christ with a
political prisoner like Mumia Abu-Jamal or Leonard Peltier, and scripture citations with
swear words. Lines from a recently distributed tract -- "Jesus came to the earth to take the
penalty for our sins" and "all our evil has cut us off from God 'for the wages of sin... More >

If only it promised as much for the future of rock leftism as for the future of rock guitar ("Calm Like a Bomb," "War Within a Breath"). (Grade - *)