Still raging after all these years…
Formed in 2016 as an amalgamation of anti-authority musicians from Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill, and Public enemy, Prophets of Rage is a time capsule into the ’90s with its catchy grooves and lyrical flow. The marriage of talent is incredibly rich and the rapping lyrics over heavy guitar and bass driven rhythms is a recipe that led Rage Against the Machine to great success in the past.
From the very beginning of the album, the ever so familiar sound of a rhythm section featuring Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine) on bass and Brad Wilk (Rage Against the Machine) on drums through “Radical Eyes” is eerily similar to previous works like “People of the Sun,” while featuring Chuck D of Public Enemy on the microphone and it just simply fits.
The vocal cadence is similar to former Rage Against the Machine wordsmith Zack de la Rocha’s, but with the deep and iconic voice that was at the forefront of the point where rap met metal in the past with the Public Enemy/Anthrax collaboration “Bring the Noise” in the mid ’90s. The album is a ride through many of the political movements and talking points of today’s society on many fronts such as the legalization of marijuana in “Legalize Me” as well as the need for individuals to band together during times of struggle in “Strength in Numbers” among many more songs that resonate with today’s socio-political climate.
Many people would think that with the large amount of talent from different backgrounds that the self titled debut release had on-board, that there would be too many individual outlooks in the group to make something coherent, tasteful, and true to everyone’s individual styles. They would be wrong. There is a natural flow to the music throughout every track, from Tom Morello’s (Rage Against the Machine) signature guitar tone to Brad Wilk’s drum breaks as well as Chuck D and B-Real’s (Cypress Hill) voices over it all like icing on a cake.
Overall, The album is a straightforward hard rock album with the soul of an early hip-hop album. It is yet another release from each of the contributors that bucks against the status quo and encourages questioning the establishment in times of great political uncertainty and unchecked power within governments across the globe, with some utterly infectious grooves throughout.
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