In a recent interview with KROQ , Rage Against The Machine told djs Kevin & Bean that their upcoming performance at L.A. Rising “is actually, probably, the last show we’re going to play.”

Although the author of KROQ’s article doesn’t seem to have taken those words very seriously, fans of RATM may experience a sudden, panicky feeling, especially since the new album mentioned by Zach de la Rocha in December of 2010 failed to materialize.  For reassurance we must look to Tom Morello’s statement, made to The Pulse of Radio back in May of this year.

“Right now there are no… You know, the band is not writing songs, the band is not in the studio . . . We get along famously and we all, you know, intend to do more Rage Against the Machine stuff in the future, but beyond sort of working out a concert this year, there’s nothing else on the schedule.”

While completely killing any hope of a 2011 album release, Morello also manages to reassure fans that the band has no plans to break up any time soon.  And in RATM’s interview with KROQ, he offers a rather frustrating explanation for the long, tense waits between RATM projects:

“Between times that Rage Against The Machine plays, it’s like pulling the bow-string taut. You know what I mean? …We hadn’t played, what was it, like seven years since Coachella and that room was pretty electric.

“Then we played one show since ’99 in Los Angeles and that was at the Palladium. So, the bow-string is taut once again.”

In other words? Buy a ticket to L.A. Rising, because it’s going to be amazing.