Only CDs Is Sounding Like These # 6: Rage Against The Machine, Evil Empire (1996)

A new occasional series - CDs are coming back baby! And I’m here for it. BIGTIME! Also, some albums just REALLY suit the format, right?

I tried owning Rage Against The Machine on vinyl. It didn’t take. That first album still hits hard for me. And it felt like a necessary purchase. But it didn’t actually feel right listening to it at home. It’s not a sit-down album. I’ve listened to RATM at the gym (okay, clearly not that often), and on car-rides, and back in the day as ‘Hype’ music before going out, at gigs between acts, including shows I’ve DJ’d myself — and when walking around town. I’ve listened to RATM on CD and tape and vinyl and iPod and via streaming services. I first owned the first album on tape. But by the time of second album, Evil Empire CDs were all I cared about.

I owned all of the band’s albums — easy to do, there’s not many. I had a few bootlegs too. But really it was about those first two albums for the longest time. When I finally discovered the third album, properly, I declared it my favourite. But really, I could (now) take any of the first three. And I feel more connected in some ways (now) to Evil Empire and The Battle of Los Angeles — something about living out in the world on my own when I heard them I suppose. That first album is amazing to me, and an all-time nostalgia-rush always. But I was in school uniform shorts when I first heard it. I lived at home with my folks and would tie up the landline for hours at a time. My dad reluctantly paid for call waiting.

Evil Empire was a set of waves. At first, slight disappointment. Oh, they’ve done the same thing again. (What would you expect the band to do?)

Then, the actual proper excitement of Bulls on Parade and People of the Sun. This was raw-af and real and so good. Drummer Brad Wilk was fucking thrashing those drums. Singer Zack de la Rocha was all put giving himself tonsillitis by the end of each song. That huge, huge sound of Tim Commerford’s bass — the rubber room for these tunes to bounce themselves crazy in — and then the “sound effects” riffing of guitarist Tom Morello. It’s funny, I’ve said this elsewhere I’m sure, but at the time he felt like the reason for the band, now he seems the least compelling component. And I’m trying to not even drag in his personality, politics, or ghastly solo albums. Just the sonic he was offering is what dates this to a time. And that alone isn’t a bad thing, it just comes down to him being the least surprising, vital element.

And in saying that, maybe he was never better than on Evil Empire even if the anthems are all on the first record.

I love the sound of the band here — and I love the sound of the band on CD. They were one of the groups of that era, and just right for the format.

I bought an old junker of a stereo recently on TradeMe. Mostly for the tape deck, but hey, bonus extra CD player in the house. It came with a box of CDs, a lot of them metal, a few other things both random (soundtrack to Stickmen) and obvious (U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb). But one of the true gifts was Evil Empire. What a band. What a sound. What a set of songs. And of course the correct format!

I saw Evil Empire on vinyl recently and thought about it for a second, and then remembered my experience with the self-titled debut. (I’m now hoping to again find that one on cassette tape! Tragic? Yes. Fun? FUCK YEAH!)

There’s a long and complicated answer about the production of the time being just right for the format (shorthand: compression) but I’m not going to go into it at all. Some things are just right for the format. I am no science-denier, but there are certain stories where you just need the truth without the explanation. And the story of Evil Empire being just right on CD is one of those.

And the story of Rage Against The Machine’s music feeling potent once again is back. And it’s riveting. And undeniable. Both the story, and the music.