Track Listing

1. Bombtrack
2. Killing In The Name
3. Take The Power Back
4. Settle For Nothing
5. Bullet In The Head
6. Know Your Enemy
7. Wake Up
8. Fistful Of Steel
9. Township Rebellion
10. Freedom

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1154 in Music
• Released on: 2002-05-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
Not since the days of the Clash and the MC5 has rock seen such political force as in the uncompromising debut from this American quartet. Expanding the hip-hop/metal style of bands such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage tap the spirits of vintage Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, coupled with hardcore punk intensity and Public Enemy-style grooves. "Bombtrack" opens the album with a shot of adrenaline and singer Zack de la Rocha's infuriated chorus of "Burn, burn, yes, you're gonna burn!" The intensity doesn't let up an inch on the militant "Killing In The Name" (with the inspiring chant, "Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!"), the ultrafunky "Bullet In The Head," and the engrossing "Fistful Of Steel". Tom Morello combines time-honoured metal-guitar riffs with sounds that suggest a hip-hop scratcher over a rhythm section that simply takes no prisoners. Intelligent and aggressive, this is unimpeachably one of the best hard-rock records ever made. --James Rotondi

CD Description
This self titled debut album cemented Rage Against The Machine's place as the leaders of the early nineties rap/rock crossover sound. The album combines the sounds of hardcore, hip hop, and metal and is topped with Zack de la Rocha's fiercely political lyrics. Also included are the singles 'KillingIn The Name', 'Bombtrack', and 'Bullet In The Head'.

Customer Reviews

Rage.....makes amazing music
Rage Against the Machine...the name of the band says everything about their style. Pounding beats, amazing riffs, and completely rage filled lyrics and singing-these are some of the things that make Rage Against the Machine so compelling. There is NO filler in this album, it just pounds and rages through the entire length. Anarchy is a constant feature in Rage Against the Machine's songs, especially in this album. Songs like 'Killing in the name of' and 'know your enemy' show exactly how this works. For example, 'F*** you i wont do what you tell me' in 'Killing in the name of' pretty much underlines the entire band's purpose; stirring up controversy while keeping musical elements in their songs. The bands name says a lot about their style - the name is a term for rebelling against the authority, and their music surely proves that the name is rightfully used. Zach De la Rocha's singing/rapping goes very well with the band's heavy baselines and beats. Though this CD is around 15 years old, it still seems as fresh as ever. I think it is a great pity that the band broke up, and even though the remaining members (everyone minus Zach De la Rocha) of Rage against the Machine went on to form Audioslave, Audioslave much less controversial, and (in my opinion) their lyrics and baselines a lot less powerful.

RATM makes everything else look like :o)
I heard this album 7 years ago, back when I was just 10. Then, to me it was a lot of shouting, a lot of rude words, and funky loud guitars! Nowadays that's what I think when I listen to 'nu-rock' or whatever it is, Korn, Limp, Coal Chamber, and all them. They are just guitars and a guy screaming about rather unhappy things.

Now, when I listen to Rage, I hear something completely different. Vocals that convey the most power and emotion I have ever heard. Zack puts such intensity into all his songs, the quiet ones can make you just as angry as the screaming ones. The style is also much better than anything else I've heard. His singing goes from quiet rhyming to funky hiphop verses, to screaming catchphrases of anger and rage against 'the machine'. This is all backed up by the greatest guitarist today, Morello. He does things that not even I can do with my collection of air-guitars! Briliant solo pieces fit seemlessly with tunes that will keep you motivated and angry. Timmy C on the bass is normally overlooked due to Morello's greatness, but he keeps everything together with catchy riffs. And finally drum beats to keep it all lively and kicking.

I don't need to mention any of their songs for special praise, they all deserve it. This is a brilliant album that makes all other rock bands look amateur.

Thankyou, and goodnight.

Anger is an energy
This is not so much an album as one long angry protest song. That is not an insult, it's one hell of a song! Later RATM albums would show that they were really one trick ponies when it came down to it, but on this album the trick was fresh and, frankly, astonishing.

I was lucky enough to be of the right age when the single 'Killing in the name of' came out (and hilariously got Bruno Brookes a load of grief from radio 1 - should've played the radio edit!) and my breath was quite literally taken away.

Everything on this album follows the same pattern, chilled start, frantic mid-section , then softly, softly then bang! It doesn't really go beyond that, nor does it need to.

Lyrically intelligent and thought provoking and musically provocative - Tom Morello's guitar playing really is something to behold - this rap/metal hybrid has a punk rock heart beating beneath it.

Well worth the asking price.