Brad Wilk Indicates Rage Against the Machine Reunion May Be Over, L.A. Was Rising Was Likely Final Show

Say it ain’t so, Rage. Recently, drummer Brad Wilk spoke about what he thought was the end of Rage Against The Machine, and the apparent split-up signals the end of a rap-metal era.

The former Rage Against The Machine drummer, in a recent interview, said that he felt the band had played its “last show” at 2011’s L.A. Rising festival, countering the eager hopes of many to see the group play again in this August’s L.A. Rising.

“Well, as far as I know, we played our last show in 2011 at the Coliseum, and if that was our last show, that’s a good way to go out. I sort of had to put it in my head that that band is over in order for me to just move on with my life, to be honest with you, so that’s kind of where that lies. The Coliseum — awesome way to go out.”

Since their first ever live performance together as a band, Rage Against The Machine has shown a penchant for razor-sharp political commentary and a signature sound crackling with intensity. After their 1992 self-titled debut album, the band would go on make three more records before their initial break-up in 2000, and then Rage Against The Machine reunited in 2007, playing a few live shows though never touring.

Since then, some of the band’s members have been all over the map, while others drift a little farther under the radar. With Tom Morello recording and appearing live as The Night Watchman and playing with Bruce Springsteen, and Brad Wilk performing with Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players in L.A. and Austin, as well as helping Black Sabbath record their album 13 and touring Europe with the metal legends, Rage Against the Machine vocalist Zack De La Rocha and bassist Tim Commerford have kept lower profiles. After hinting at new Rage material in the works back in 2011, Commerford appeared on the soundtrack to Dave Grohl’s documentary Sound City: Real To Reel, recording alongside Grohl, Wilk, and Chris Goss on the track “Time Slowing Down.” Zack De La Rocha meanwhile has remained quite productive, playing with his band One Day as Lion at 2011’s Coachella, releasing poem in support of the Occupy movement, and after the 20th anniversary reissue of the band’s debut album, being featured on a Deltron 3030 track, “Melding of the Minds,” in 2013––not to mention being spotted alongside Travis Barker in the recording sessions of El-P and Killer Mike’s new Run the Jewels album.

So, even though the sun seems to be setting on Rage Against the Machine, the band’s former members are clearly continuing to explore their artistic options, which is more than anyone could ask for.