Rage Against the Machine – the Eponymous album. The band ‘Rage Against the Machine’ formed in 1989, they are old. Yes. So, they played a few early songs on some redneck Yankee stages, and the record companies became interested in Zack de la Rocha and the crew. They then, of course, went on to make this album. They started off with a cover.

The cover is very *ahem* meaningful. It’s all in grayscale (black and white) with typewriter font “Rage Against the Machine” along the bottom, in white writing on a small strip of all black at the bottom. Above is the ‘image’ of the album. It’s got the person (I can’t remember his name or his religion, but you would most probably have heard before) protesting in a way to set himself on fire. So, staring at you right in the face is someone burning himself, not moving or screaming/shouting/making a noise.

So, on the other side is the rest of this picture. This is the fuel can, probably empty, and the start of the fire, which is just by the person. To the right are more strips of black, with white typewriter writing saying the song names. All the songs I am putting up will all come with the lyrics, and these are taken from the booklet, which comes with the CD. Copying, I know… but I can’t change the official lyrics, can I?

_---===1. Bombtrack===---___
Ughh! Hey you, it's just another bombtrack...ughh!
Hey you, it's just another bombtrack...yeah!
It goes a-one, two three and
It's just another bombtrack
And suckas be thinkin' that they can fade this
But I'm gonna drop it at a higher level
'Cause I'm inclined to stoop down
Hand out some beat-downs
Cold runna train on punk ho's that
Think they run the game
But I learned to burn that bridge and delete
Those who compete at a level that's obsolete
Instead I warm my hands upon the flames of the flag
As I recall our downfall
And the business that burned us all
See through the news and the views that twist reality
Enough
I call the bluff
Manifest destiny

Landlords and power whores
On my people they took turns
Dispute the suits I ignite
And then watch 'em burn

With the thoughts from a militant mind
Hardline, hardline after hardline

Landlords and power whores
On my people they took turns
Dispute the suits I ignite
And then watch 'em burn

Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Yes ya gonna burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn

It goes a-one, two, three
Another funky radical bombtrack
Started as a sketch in my notebook
And now dope hooks make punks take another look
My thoughts ya hear and ya begin to fear
That ya card will get pulled if ya interfere

With the thoughts from a militant mind
Hardline, hardline after hardline

Landlords and power whores
On my people they took turns
Dispute the suits I ignite
And then watch 'em burn

Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Yes ya gonna burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn
Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn

Euurrrggghhhhh!
Uggh! Hey you, it's just another bombtrack...
Check it out...

--- It starts off with a VERY smart and catchy bass line, which then goes on to a heavy guitar riff, which sounds OK, but when the lyrics start, the guitars change and it sounds really good. Then it kind of repeats, with the verse lyrics being the only changed ones. In my opinion, it’s a great song that many Guitar players envy to play and a song which I wouldn’t be surprised if they had made a video for.

_---===2. Killing in the name of===---___
Killing in the name of!
Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that burn crosses
Huh!

Killing in the name of!
Killing in the name of

And now you do what they told ya (11 times)
But now you do what they told ya
Well now you do what they told ya

Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites

Some of those that were forces are the same that bore crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that bore crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that bore crosses
Some of those that were forces are the same that bore crosses
Uggh!

Killing in the name of!
Killing in the name of

And now you do what they told ya (4 times)
And now you do what they told ya, now you're under control (7 times)
And now you do what they told ya!

Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Those who died are justified, for wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
You justify those that died by wearing the badge, they're the chosen whites
Come on!

(Guitar solo: 'Yeah! Come on!')

F..k you, I won't do what you tell me (8 times, talking)
F..k you, I won't do what you tell me! (8 times, shouting)
Motherf..ker!
Uggh!

---This ranks among the best on the whole album (10 tracks). The guitar riff, once it gets into the song, is dangerously catchy and fits in snugly in the place of the lyrics. Well, it’s lyrics, in addition, are very powerful , emotional and meaningful. My opinion is that this is one which you can actually put in the CD just to listen to. It’s good, yes.

_---===3: Take the Power Back===---___
Crank the music up

Bring that s..t in! Uggh!
Yeah, the movement's in motion with mass militant poetry
Now check this out...uggh!
In the right light, study becomes insight
But the system that dissed us
Teaches us to read and write

So called facts are fraud
They want us to allege and pledge
And bow down to their God
Lost the culture, the culture lost
Spun our minds and through time
Ignorance has taken over
Yo, we gotta take the power back!
Bam! Here's the plan
Motherf.k Uncle Sam
Step back, I know who I am
Raise up your ear, I'll drop the style and clear
It's the beats and the lyrics they fear
The rage is relentless
We need a movement with a quickness
You are the witness of change
And to counteract
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

The present curriculum
I put my fist in 'em
Eurocentric every last one of 'em
See right through the red, white and blue disguise
With lecture I puncture the structure of lies
Installed in our minds and attempting
To hold us back
We've got to take it back
'Cause holes in our spirit causin' tears and fears
One-sided stories for years and years and years
I'm inferior? Who's inferior?
Yea, we need to check the interior
Of the system that cares about only one culture
And that is why
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

Hey yo check, we're gonna have to break it, break it, break it down
Awww s..t!
Uggh!
And like this...uggh!
Come on, yeah! Bring it back the other way!
The teacher stands in front of the class
But the lesson plan he can't recall
The student's eyes don't perceive the lies
Bounding off every f..king wall
His composure is well kept
I guess he fears playing the fool
The complacent students sit and listen to some of that
Bulls..t that he learned in school

Europe ain't my rope to swing on
Can't learn a thing from it
Yet we hang from it
Gotta get it, gotta get it together then
Like the motherf..kin' weathermen
To expose and close the doors on those who try
To strangle and mangle the truth
'Cause the circle of hatred continues unless we react
We gotta take the power back

Yeah, we gotta take the power back
Come on, come on!
We gotta take the power back

No more lies
Uggh!
Yeah!
Take it back y'all
Take it back, a-take it back
A-take it back y'all, come on!
Take it back y'all
Take it back, a-take it back
A-take it back y'all, come on!
Uggh!
Yeah!

---This one reminds me of Renegades. It’s got very strong stuff in the lyrics, and the bass line is really good. Tom Morello could have done a better job with his guitar playing, and personally should have gone into strumming rather than plucking. It’s good, though.

_---===4: Settle for Nothing===---___
A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognise
Having never seen the colour of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I gotta 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Death is on my side....suicide!

A jail cell is freedom from the pain in my home
Hatred passed on, passed on and passed on
A world of violent rage
But it's one that I can recognise
Having never seen the colour of my father's eyes
Yes, I dwell in hell, but it's a hell that I can grip
I tried to grip my family
But I slipped

To escape from the pain in an existence mundane
I gotta 9, a sign, a set and now I gotta name

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
Caught between my culture and the system....genocide!

Read my writing on the wall
No-one's here to catch me when I fall
If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face
Yeah!

If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
Settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

If we don't take action now
We'll settle for nothing later
We settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
We'll settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

---Again, lyrics: good. Very good. During the verses, there is a good bass line, and a good guitar riff. But the guitar during the chorus can get very annoying. It’s good, but normally I skip this for the next song:

_---===5: Bullet in the Head===---___
This time the bullet cold rocked ya
A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika
Nothin' proper about ya propaganda
Fools follow rules when the set commands ya
Said it was blue
When ya blood was read
That's how ya got a bullet blasted through ya head

Blasted through ya head
Blasted through ya head

I give a shout out to the living dead
Who stood and watched as the feds cold centralized
So serene on the screen
You were mesmerized
Cellular phones soundin' a death tone
Corporation’s cold
Turn ya to stone before ya realize

They load the clip in omnicolour
Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time
The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz
And mutha f..kas lost their minds

Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Yeah
Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Run it!

Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high

Check-a, check-a, check it out
They load the clip in omnicolour
Said they pack the 9, they fire it at prime time
The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz
And mutha f..kas lost their minds

No escape from the mass mind rape
Play it again jack and then rewind the tape
And then play it again and again and again
Until ya mind is locked in
Believin' all the lies that they're tellin' ya
Buyin' all the products that they're sellin' ya
They say jump and ya say how high
Ya brain-dead
Ya gotta f..kin' bullet in ya head

Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high
Yeah
Just victims of the in-house drive-by
They say jump, you say how high

Uggh! Yeah! Yea!

Ya standin' in line
Believin' the lies
Ya bowin' down to the flag
Ya gotta bullet in ya head

Ya standin' in line
Believin' the lies
Ya bowin' down to the flag
Ya gotta bullet in ya head

---This is a very good song. Probably the best, or one of them. It’s got very good drumming, bass and electric guitar playing, and good singing. Catchy, powerful. Take a good listen to this.

_---===6: Know your Enemy===---___
Huh!
Yeah, we're comin' back then with another bombtrack
Think ya know what it's all about
Huh!
Hey yo, so check this out
Yeah!
Know your enemy!

Come on!

Born with insight and a raised fist
A witness to the slit wrist, that's with
As we move into '92
Still in a room without a view
Ya got to know
Ya got to know
That when I say go, go, go
Amp up and amplify
Defy
I'm a brother with a furious mind
Action must be taken
We don't need the key
We'll break in

Something must be done
About vengeance, a badge and a gun
'Cause I'll rip the mike, rip the stage, rip the system
I was born to rage against 'em

Fist in ya face, in the place
And I'll drop the style clearly
Know your enemy...Know your enemy!

Yeah!

Hey yo, and dick with this...uggh!
Word is born
Fight the war, f..k the norm
Now I got no patience
So sick of complacence
With the D the E the F the I the A the N the C the E
Mind of a revolutionary
So clear the lane
The finger to the land of the chains
What? The land of the free?
Whoever told you that is your enemy?

Now something must be done
About vengeance, a badge and a gun
'Cause I'll rip the mike, rip the stage, rip the system
I was born to rage against 'em

Now action must be taken
We don't need the key
We'll break in

I've got no patience now
So sick of complacence now
I've got no patience now
So sick of complacence now
Sick of sick of sick of sick of you
Time has come to pay...
Know your enemy!

Come on!
Yes I know my enemies
They're the teachers who taught me to fight me
Compromise, conformity, assimilation, submission
Ignorance, hypocrisy, brutality, the elite
All of which are American dreams

---These seem to be getting shorter, so I’ll make sure this continues <g>. It’s just like Bullet in the Head, good in all directions, very powerful lyrics, and is among the best on the album. Take a good listen.

7: Wake Up
Come on!
Uggh!
Come on, although ya try to discredit
Ya still never edit
The needle, I'll thread it
Radically poetic
Standin' with the fury that they had in '66
And like E-Double I'm mad
Still knee-deep in the system's s..t
Hoover, he was a body remover
I'll give ya a dose
But it'll never come close
To the rage built up inside of me
Fist in the air, in the land of hypocrisy

Movements come and movements go
Leaders speak, movements cease
When their heads are flown
'Cause all these punks
Got bullets in their heads
Departments of police, the judges, the feds
Networks at work, keepin' people calm
You know they went after King
When he spoke out on Vietnam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot

Yeah!

Yeah, back in this...
Wit' poetry, my mind I flex
Flip like Wilson, vocals never lackin' dat finesse
Whadda I got to, whadda I got to do to wake ya up
To shake ya up, to break the structure up
'Cause blood still flows in the gutter
I'm like takin' photos
Mad boy kicks open the shutter
Set the groove
Then stick and move like I was Cassius
Rep the stutter step
Then bomb a left upon the fascists
Yea, the several federal men
Who pulled schemes on the dream
And put it to an end

Ya better beware
Of retribution with mind war
20/20 visions and murals with metaphors

Networks at work, keepin' people calm
Ya know they murdered X
And tried to blame it on Islam
He turned the power to the have-nots
And then came the shot

Uggh!
What was the price on his head?
What was the price on his head!

I think I heard a shot (5 times)
I think I heard, I think I heard a shot

(All in background – adidadi)
'Black nationalism'
'He may be a real contender for this position should he abandon his supposed obedience to white liberal doctrine of non-violence...and embrace black nationalism'
'Through counter-intelligence it should be possible to pinpoint potential trouble-makers...'
'And neutralize them'

Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

How long? Not long, 'cause
what you reap is what you sow.

---If you have seen the Matrix, then you will be aware of this song, but might not know it. After Neo hangs up the phone at the VERY end of the film, this music stars to play and the credits come on. This is the song. A lot of my mates don’t agree with me, but I think that this is the best song on the album. It has AMAZING guitar effects, which are very catchy, some fast lyrics which somehow (and luckily) don’t count as rapping. The song is a very good length, also. The song is good from the drumming and bass lining parts, with even better music from Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha. It’s definitely one to listen to, it really, really is good.

_---===8: Fistful of Steel===---___
Huh!
Check it...uggh!
Silence
Something about silence makes me sick
'Cause silence can be violent
Sorta like a slit wrist

If the vibe was suicide
Then you would push da button
But if ya bowin' down
Then let me do the cuttin'

Some speak the sounds
But speak in silent voices
Like radio is silent
Though it fills the air with noises
Its transmissions bring submission
As ya mold to the unreal
And mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel
Yeah...and mad mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel

Wit' a fistful of steel
('Cause I know the power of the question)
Wit' a fistful of steel
Wit' a fistful of steel
(And I won't stop 'cause I know the power of the question)

It's time to flow like the fluid in ya veins
If ya will it, I will spill it
And ya out just as quick as ya came
Not a silent one
But a defiant one
Never a normal one
'Cause I'm the bastard son
With the visions of the move
Vocals not to soothe
But to ignite and put in flight
My sense of militance
Groovin', playin' this game called survival
The status, the elite, the enemy, the rival
The silent sheep slippin', riffin', trippin'
Give ya a glimpse of the reality I'm grippin'
Steppin' into the jam and I'm slammin' like Shaquille
Mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel
Yeah...and mad boy grips the microphone
Wit' a fistful of steel

Wit' a fistful of steel
('Cause I know the power of the question)
Wit' a fistful of steel
Wit' a fistful of steel
(And I won't stop 'cause I know the power of the question)

Ahh s..t

And I won't stop 'cause I know the power of the question

And if the vibe was suicide
Then you would push da button
But if ya bowin' down
Then let me do the cuttin`

Yeah!
Come on!

A .44 full of bullets
Face full of pale
Eyes full of empty
A stare full of nails
The roulette ball rolls alone on the wheel
A mind full of fire
And a fistful of steel

And if the vibe was suicide
Then you would push da button
But if ya bowin' down
Then let me do the cuttin'

Yeah! Wit' a fistful of steel!
Come on!
Uggh!
Wit' a fistful of steel!
Uggh!

---This is a good song, it’s got what you expect normally, look at what I’ve written first, but the chorus.. it seems to be in a whisper. It’s good, and something different to listen to.

_---===9: Township Rebellion===---___
Rebel, rebel and yell
'Cause our people still dwell in hell
Locked in a cell
Yes, the structure's a cell
Mad is the story I tell
How long can we wait?
Come on, seein' what's at stake
Action for reaction
If your mind's in a somewhat complacent state
Get a check up
This is a stick up
Our freedom or your life
Lord, I wish I could be peaceful
But there can be no sequel

Now freedom must be fundamental
In Johannesburg or South Central
On the mic, 'cause someone should tell 'em
To kick in the township rebellion

Yeah, what about that sucker?

Yeah, so you thought you could get with the hardlines
That fill your mind
Thoughts, battles fought
And lessons taught
Yes I'll display the fitness
And flip like a gymnast
Raise my fist and resist
Asleep, though we stand in the midst
Of the war
Gotta get mine
Gotta get more
Keepin' the mic warm against the norm
'Cause what does it offer me?
I think often it's nothin' but a coffin

Gotta get wreck
'Till our necks never swing on a rope
From here to the cape of no hope

Now freedom must be fundamental
In Johannesburg or South Central
On the mic, 'cause someone should tell 'em
To kick in the township rebellion

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, f..k the norm (4 times)

(Guitar solo)

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, f..k the norm (4 times)

What's it gonna take?
Euuurrrggghhhhh!

Shackle their minds when they're bent on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackle their minds when they're left on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackled our minds when we're bent on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost
Shackled our minds when we're left on the cross
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost, lost!

Shackle your minds and you're left on the cross!
When ignorance reigns, life is lost!
Just shackle your minds when you're bent on the cross!
When ignorance reigns, life is lost, lost!

Why stand on a silent platform?
Fight the war, f..k the norm

---Again, ANOTHER good song. Isn’t this getting boring? <g>
It’s got some good lyrics thought up here, but that’s more the only song which fully stands out. It’s great.

_---===10: Freedom===---___
Freedom
Uggh!
Pump, pump..
Wah!
Come on!
Uggh!
Solo, I'm a soloist on a solo list
All live, never on a floppy disk
Inka, inka, bottle of ink
Paintings of rebellion
Drawn up by the thoughts I think

Yeah!
Come on!
The militant poet in once again, check it

It's set up like a deck of cards
They're sending us to early graves
For all the diamonds
They'll use a pair of clubs to beat the spades
With poetry I paint the pictures that hit
More like the murals that fit
Don't turn away
Get in front of it

Brotha, did ya forget ya name?
Did ya lose it on the wall
Playin' tic-tac-toe?

Yo, check the diagonal
Three brothers gone
Come on
Doesn't that make it three in a row?

Spoken quietly: "Anger is a gift"

Come on!
Uggh!

(Guitar solo)

Check that!
Uggh!
Come on
Yeah
Uggh

Brotha, did ya forget ya name?
Did ya lose it on the wall
Playin' tic-tac-toe?

Yo, check the diagonal
Three million gone
Come on
'Cause they're counting backwards to zero

Environment
The environment exceeding on the level
Of our unconsciousness
For example
What does the billboard say?
Come and play, come and play
Forget about the movement

Spoken quietly: "Anger is a gift"

Yeeeaaahhhh!
Uggh!
Awww, bring that s..t in!
Uggh!
Hey!

Freedom...yea...
Freedom...yea right...
Freedom...yeeeaaahhh!
Freedom!
Yea!
Freedom!
Yea right!
Freedom!
Yea!
Freedom!
Yea!
Right!

---What an ending. Just look up. It’s better than THAT, when you hear it. But it’s just amazing, how Rage Against the Machine can put something with such power into a mere song. The chorus has one hell of a catchy riff in the guitar as well. There’s the usual Zack’s “Uggh” etc. pre-line, and that ending to an amazing album, which you can see, like I said before, just above you.

So, to conclude: This is a good album. It’s very good. Very, very good. No, that’s not my conclusion, I’ll go in further: It’s got a bit of everything (not literally), like power, emotion, anger, sorrow and good performing in that recording studio from 1992.

To round off, you should buy this if you are into this particular genre, then you should get this. If you don’t then I’ll take it you already own the CD. ^_^

And one more thing: If I get ‘caught’ copying off other sites in the lyrics, well I probably have, but they stole it from Rage Against the Machine, so Nyer.