Battle Of Los Angeles, The - Rage Against The Machine > Reviews > A Last Testiment to Genius

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Hard core rock at it's finest
Disadvantages:	Possibly the last non - cover album

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Released in 1999 just one day off the seven year anniversary of their debut album 'Battle for Los Angeles' was to be Rage Against the Machine's long awaited third studio album.

Featuring the original line up (vocalist Zach de la Rocha, bassist Tim Cummerford, drummer Brad Wilk and unorthodox guitarist Tom Morello) 'Battle of Los Angeles' was a testament to their genius with notable affiliations, not least with top producer Brendan O'Brien. 'No Shelter' featured on Godzilla soundtrack, 'Guerrilla Radio' on Tony Hawkes Pro Skater 2 and promotional videos for 'Testify' and 'Sleep Now in the Fire' were directed by Michael Moore, it was voted by 'Time Magazine' as the best album of 1999, and by 'Rolling Stone' at number 426 in the greatest albums of all time in 2003.

The album was heavily influenced by George Orwell's '1984' with 'Testify, 'Sleep now in the Fire' and 'Voice of the Voiceless' containing direct quotes. In my mind it is much spookier than its predecessors, but keeps the heaviness and political punch.

Testify

'Mister anchor assure me
That Baghdad is burning
Your voice it is so soothing
That cunning mantra of killing'

Introduced by a reverberating guitar playing painful, screeching slides backed by a simple, tension building bass, this track is no gentle introduction to the album and takes the listener straight into heavy and fast based confrontation. The vocals themselves provide the rhythm with the percussion following its lead and bass guitar forming the background for the verses. The bridge features a funky guitar and fast paced hushed rap followed by an intricate solo in keeping with the original slide, but more melodic and tamed.

Guerrilla Radio

'More for Gore of the son of a drug lord
None of the above fuck it cut the cord'

Themed around the 2000 presidential election and the perceived worthlessness of democracy in the US. It is a heavy track, but with distinct funk tendencies coming through during the verses, especially from the bass and a catchy duet between guitar and percussion. The vocally lead chorus is almost entirely heavy noise held together by the guitar and bass following the same riff. The solo, introduced by an ascending guitar and bass riff uses effects to make it sound like a harmonica and is cut short by hushed vocals, which are in turn cut short by heavy guitar chords and bringing the listener back to the main track with an explosive finish.

Calm Like a Bomb

I be walkin' God like a dog
My narrative fearless
My world war returns to burn
Like Baldwin home from Paris'

A bass lead track which sees both guitar and bass using their pedals extensively. Introduced by a calm bass before the intense start to the main body. Throughout the bass makes use of a Wah-wah pedal and a home made pedal of Cummerford's own design while the guitar uses a whammy to rapidly raise the pitch and create what Morello describes as 'pterodactyl' noises. The bridge is an unsettling and unrefined guitar solo backed by bass. Added depth comes from two sets of vocals, the first highly produced, acting as background to the second which is left largely untouched.

Mic Check

'Those naked and wageless
Now scream within cages'

A dark, moody track that juxtapositions a brooding bass with a panic ridden guitar. It starts with layers of an eerie guitar riff reverberated slightly and angry vocals. Again, there is heavy pedal use on the bass giving the track an ominous industrial / sci-fi feel. The bridge is urgent, disorganised and discordant with an alarming bass played at a slightly higher pitch, while the vocals use audio positioning to give the impression of several vocalists.

Sleep now in the Fire

I am the Mina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria
The noose and the rapist, the field overseer
The Agents of Orange
The priests of Hiroshima
The cost of my desire'

An erratic track, but skillfully put together. It is rather short, but remains one of my favourites. Not wanting to miss anything out, it references the conquest of the Native Americans, US slavery, the bombing of Hiroshima, the use of Agent Orange and the collapse of the Soviet Union forcing the acceptance of capitalism. It starts as it means to go on with furious vocals and furious guitar. On the whole it is one of their more mainstream tracks on the album with a more reliable beat, catchy riff and orthodox time signature. It is vocally lead, held together by a feint bass. The guitar solo makes skilful use of a whammy again to bring up the pitch before bringing the track crashing to an end.

Born of a Broken Man

'Forever awake he lies shaking and starving
Praying for someone to turn off the light'

Introduced by a melodic, melancholy riff leading to heavier chords based on the same melody. The composition is simple with tension building verses with hushed vocals and subdued guitars leading up to a release for the chorus featuring loud and heavy chords and furious vocals. The guitar solo features the same central riff, only here it is more subtle. The percussion is hollow and reverberated for the verses, becoming heavier to fit in for the chorus.

Born as ghosts

'The hills find peace
Locked armed guards post
Safe from the screams
Of the children born as Ghosts'

A complicated composition seemingly disorganised with layered vocals slightly out of time with each other. The chorus revels in it's heaviness with painful stuttering slides on the guitar and a muted bass giving an industrial feel. Bass uses a Wah-wah to create a bizarre noise that is used frequently during the verses. The bridge is split in to two halves; the first part a painful guitar that becomes softer for the second half where it is joined by the bass.

Maria

'She stuffed ten to a truck bed
She clutches her cross
Here comes tha exhaust
And it rips through her lungs

Opening on a painful and panic inducing continual note from guitar almost drowning out the relatively subtle vocals and gentle bass. When that cuts out the vocals come through clear punctuated by guitar chords. The end of each chorus briefly brings in a clearer guitar riff before returning to the beginning of the cycle. Heavy pedal use on the guitar solo again is forceful and distorted while holding the melody. He then uses the whammy to up the pitch to a panic driven riff leading into an abrupt finish.

Voice of the Voiceless

'And Orwell's hell a terror era coming through
But this little brother's watching you to'

A Celtic influenced riff that uses pedals to manipulate the mood with tweaks and discordant glitches alternating with a basic rock guitar riff around the vocals, drowning them out in places. Typically, Morello uses pedals to distort the guitar sound so that it is barely recognisable in places. The percussion is basic and lead by the guitar during the breaks in-between verses.

New Millennium Homes

'Tha spirit of Jackson
Now screams through tha ruins
Through factory chains
And tha ghost of tha union'

'New Millennium Homes' features two themes; the story of George Jackson, a young black man on death row and a member of the Black Panther Party and people wanting security for the future. Vocally lead with the guitar providing rhythm and percussion following suit. It opens with a heavy bass riff, pauses, and then heads into the main track with an urgent guitar using a basic and rhythmic riff, basic percussion, keeping it all under control and mocking vocals. Post production layers the vocals to give the effect of many vocalists using audio positioning.

Ashes In The Fall

'Listen to the fascist sing
Take hope here
War is elsewhere
You were chosen
This is God's land'

The introduction features an obscenely high pitched guitar grounded by a calmer and persistent bass giving a surreal mood. The vocals are slightly reverberated so that they sound a little too clear to be comfortable, like the singer is standing in an empty room. The track as a whole is moderately paced, the percussion however is very fast, increasing tension against the more subdued guitars. The guitar riff which is featured throughout the track is simple and almost childlike, but this only makes it all the more ominous especially when set against the heavy distortion that is to come in the solo where it picks up the original riff and tears it apart with abandon, before easing into a timely death.

War Within a Breath

'War within a breath
It's land or death'

The last track is darker and more haunting that the majority of the album. Though throughout the album there are several links to industrial sound and it is never more apparent than in the immediately engaging 'War Within a Breath'. Guitar and bass follow the same ascending riff with the guitar coming away at points to strike out on its own. Post production and de la Rocha's talent as a rapper create two characters with in the track, one tension building and hushed the other loud and ferocious and changing the audio positioning for each character. It ends on a seemingly endless single high pitched note.

No Shelter

'Godzilla pure mother fuckin' filler
Get your eyes off the real killer'

This track only features on the European and Australian releases as a bonus track. It discusses how the media and movies distract the public from important issues.