To die for

Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello has released a collaborative EP alongside The Bloody Beetroots, an Italian electronic dance duo. The seven-track EP is titled The Catastrophists EP and, of course, features Morello’s thunderous guitar chords and strong voice of activism.

The EP kicks off with “The Devil’s Infantry,” which is made up of a near two-minute narration of a deep voice describing a horror scene before switching up to a groove metal instrumental for the second half of the track. The narration repeats, “there will be no dancing tonight,” which serves as a foreshadow of what is to come throughout the EP. Fans and listeners should throw away the ideas of conventional dance music and just sit back and enjoy this beyond-belief mix of genres.

The next track, “Radium Girls,” is composed by four major female artists: Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova, The Interrupters’ Aimee Interrupter, White Lung’s Mish Way and The Last Internationale’s Delila Paz. The track is inspired by the real radium girls who worked in an Illinois factory placing radium-laced paint on glow-in-the-dark watches and consequently suffered horrific deaths such as cancer and bone deterioration from the toxic radium. The song itself kicks ass with some powerful female voices and an incredibly catchy punk-rock beat that will stay in people’s heads for days. This track just might have fans craving more projects from this female supergroup.

“Lightning Over Mexico” begins with a hard-rock, electronica and country mix beat alongside grim-like vocals but switches halfway through to a Spanish rap nearly mimicking early Calle-13’s flow and activist songs. Ana Tijoux’s Spanish rap saves this track from completely being a flop. Her lyrics go hard as she honors the 43 missing Mexican students whose disappearance has led many to become “lightning” through activism.

“Keep Going” starts with a country blues acoustic sound that serves as a warning anthem. The track slowly picks up momentum when a stomping percussion beat is introduced and slowly builds up with a soft electronic synthesizer that gives it a catchier rhythm. Just when it is expected to build up to a full electronic dance song, the track cuts off, leaving fans wanting more from this too short of a track.

“Weather Strike (The Bloody Beetroots Remix)” is another collaboration with Pussy Riot, a Russian feminist activist group, for a killer punk-rock song. “Field Of Tigers” brings in an even greater rock sound as it is led by Morello’s guitar rhythm. Halfway through, the track falls silent for a bridge with whispered vocals and burst with a sudden smashing beat that catches the listener’s attention. The final minute of the track features Morello’s insane guitar solo that knocks the roof off.

The Catastrophists EP closes with an insanely beautiful guitar solo from Morello, which fans would not want to miss in “Mary Celeste.” The track starts with a heavy industrial rock that merges with electronica rhythm, but the record is suddenly interrupted and slowed down to a more mellow groove. As always, Morello incorporates his meaningful activism lyrics that are backed up with a catchy instrumental background and transported to distant rock heaven with Morello’s glorious guitar solo.

Though fans have yet to experience the reunion of Rage Against the Machine, Tom Morello has kept himself preoccupied with some projects and collaborations such as The Catastrophists EP, which will satisfy fans’ craving for some kick-ass activism music. This EP is an unconventional mix of genres intertwined with heavy rock and a touch of dark tension that fortifies the punk-rock feel fans have been left craving from Morello.