The price of groceries, the threat of World War III, my wife’s insistence that Emerald Fennell's “interpretation” of Wuthering Heights isn’t “that bad”: there’s a lot to get angry about right now.
Which is why, middle-aged, reformed mosher that I am, I’ve found myself revisiting several of the bands I used to use for a cathartic vent as a teenager recently.
From the swooning, bellows of AFI's Davey Havok, to the politically charged screams of Zack de la Rocha, a steady stream of late ’90s and early noughties albums have been spinning on my turntable over the past few months.
But one in particular has been on repeat recently, Rage Against the Machine's second album, Evil Empire.
Why this album, over Rage’s wider body of work? Well, there are a couple of reasons.
First, it’s about to celebrate a pretty big milestone, turning 30 years old on the 16th of April. Second, I can’t help but feel it's a bit of an unappreciated, forgotten gem, even among Rage Against The Machine fans.
Even among fans I know, while everyone remembers the singles, especially Bulls On Parade (which I celebrated in our last Now Playing column), these days, most of the attention goes to the band’s self-titled debut album. And in some ways, I get why that's the case.
1992’s Rage Against The Machine is 100 per cent one for the history books, with the band's funky bass and drums intermingling with Tom Morello’s unique guitar style and Zach de la Rocha’s furious hip-hop vocals to create something truly unique.
Honestly, at the time, there was next to nothing like it, outside of maybe Faith No More’s Epic. As a sprog, it blew my mind.
And as a cohesive piece of work, it is better. Every track stands in its own right, but the album flows seamlessly from banger to banger, making it easier to listen to from start to finish.
This is likely why, until recently, I only owned the first album on vinyl and relied on streaming and my old CD copies for Evil Empire and The Battle For Los Angeles.
I say until recently, as after a quick trip to the record shop last month, I finally treated myself to a copy (sadly, it isn’t the first pressing; instead, it's a copy of the 2012 European 180g re-release I unearthed while crate digging).
And after revisiting it on the format, I feel I've finally given the proper time of day, listening to it from start to finish, in my comfy chair – not rock’n’roll, I know, but my knees aren’t up to thrashing or pogoing anymore…
For starters, the pressing made me realise quite how compressed most of the streams are, especially when listened to on Bluetooth headphones, which is how I've generally listened to Evil Empire as an adult. Rage Against The Machine may be famous for being loud, aggressive and rowdy, but there’s actually a lot of virtuosity to the band’s playing.
Much of which is lost in poor streams which push the sound loud, but cut out subtle details – the specific phrasing of Morello’s siren-esque lead guitar, minor vibrato in de la Rocha’s voice, swells in volume in Tim Commerford’s thundering bass, the attacking rhythmic precision of drummer Brad Wilk's grooving percussion.
You hear so much more, especially with the dynamics, listening to the album properly, rather than on a cheap stream.
This is especially true of Evil Empire, which has some stellar hidden gems. Roll Right, whose intro evokes a sense of UFOs flying overhead, with Morello’s guitar rapidly jumping in volume and from left to right, is one highlight.
Or my personal favourite, Revolver, whose experimental intro sounds like a complete mess when listened to via a low-quality stream, but on vinyl is truly immersive, laying the groundwork for the thundering groove-metal riff that erupts from it.
Then there’s the overall added depth you get, with the extra dynamics making the frequent breakdowns and exploding riffs just hit harder and have the impact the band wanted.
There’s so much to appreciate on the album. Which is why, not only do I recommend any Rage Against The Machine fan take the time to revisit Evil Empire, 30 years on, I’d also call on them to do it with a decent source and hi-fi set-up. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
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