Tag: Prophets of Rage

Tom Morello – “Everyone Gets Everything They Want” review

Tom Morello is a 62 year old guitarist, singer/songwriter & musician from New York City who most people remember for being apart of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, the Street Sweeper Social Club & the Prophets of Rage. He also has 6 solo efforts under his belt including the Epic Records-backed debut 1 Man Revolution, the sophomore effort The Fabled City, the Union Town extended play, Worldwide Rebel Songs, his Mom + Pop Music debut The Atlas Underground, the Comandante EP, The Atlas Underground 2: Fire & The Atlas Underground 3: Flood. His 7th LP however had me hoping it would overcome the lackluster reception of The Atlas Underground trilogy.

After the “Beth from Electronics” intro, the title track combines elements of pop rock, alternative rock & spoken word singing about dust settling everywhere than merely chaos whereas the funky alternative rap metal single “Adjourn It” featuring System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian teams to so they can call for all these criminals to suffer the consequences of their actions. “I’m Not Yours to Command” incorporates some bare pianos to sing about being uncontrollable leading into the rebellious hard rock/rap metal proclamation of being a “Soldier in the Army of Love”.

“Unconquered” by Kneecap was definitely one of the weaker moments here & that’s mostly due to the EDM sound Tom embraces rather than the socially conscious lyricism while “Date Night” treads the alt-rock waters asking posing the question of whether one supports the rise of fascism or is against it completely. “The Last Rung on the Ladder” kicks off the 2nd half with this hilariously awful reggae track raising flags at half-mast in memory of the DJs who’re shot while “Everything Burns” by Beartooth combines alternative metal, video game music, rap metal, alt-pop, trap & pop rock for a Final Fantasy XIV Online soundtrack composition.

The song “Pretend You Remember Me” passionately reaches the encore of Everyone Gets Everything They Want providing words of encouragement for those afraid to use their voices to combat tyranny while “Unethered” dabbles with funk rock so he can sing & whisper about waking up right when the world’s untethering in front of our very eyes. “They Can’t Kill Us All” finishes the album with this acoustic outro gravelly making it clear the authoritarians can’t wipe out everyone who disagree with them.

Some are hesitant to give Everyone Gets Everything They Want a chance & I can’t blame them because of The Altas Underground’s poor feedback, but it’s certainly the most I’ve enjoyed anything Tom Morello has done by himself excluding The Nightwatchman stuff. His pop rock, alternative rock, alternative metal, video game music, rap metal, alt-pop, trap, hard rock & funk rock production offers something for every fan he’s made since the beginning & focusing less on guest appearances handling the performances.

Score: 3.5/5

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Chuck D – “Radio Armageddon” review

Chuck D is a 64 year old MC, songwriter & producer from Hempstead, New York notable for being the frontman of the seminal political hip hop outfit Public Enemy. In addition to that & his brief time as a co-frontman of the Prophets of Rage, he also has 5 solo efforts under his belt with my favorite being his 1996 debut Autobiography of Mistachuck under Mercury Records. Nearly 3 decades later, the SpitSLAM Records founder’s signing to Def Jam Recordings for his 6th studio LP under his own name with very high potential considering the buildup towards it.

After the titular intro, the first song “What Rock Is” breaks the door down with a boom bap opener produced by C-Doc talking about making the needle in the ghetto stacks bleed from the left to the right whereas “Black Don’t Dead” talks about the fact black doesn’t crack even though they can surely die. “New Gens” featuring Daddy-O finally addresses hip hop’s generational gap that has been a giant elephant in the room for the past decade or so that is until we get tested to a quick “Station Break”.

“Rogue Runnin’” featuring Phill Most Chill moves forward with a chaotic 2-parter talking about ridin’ dirty for over 3 decades already just before “Is God She?” featuring 1/2 Pint & Miranda Writes ponders around the idea of our Lord & Savior being a woman mixing funk music with boom bap. After the “Station Identification” interlude, “Here We Are Heard” by The Impossebulls makes the relatable call to Make Racists Afraid Again while “Superbagg” featuring Blak Madeen talks about being stuck in their ways.

UltraMag7 joins the rhyme animal himself on “Carry On” for a hardcore rap rock banger cursing in your metaverse out of spite for anyone dumbass listening to this thinking he’s woke while “What Are We to You?” mixes politically conscious bars with some aggressive drums & more guitars thrown in the fold. “Slight Story Style Sound” featuring Donald D finds the 2 showing everyone how all 4 elements of hip hop get down & “Signing Off” featuring gangsta rap pioneer Schoolly D feels more like an outro.

Marking the return of the voice that never left, Chuck D unites both hip hop’s pioneers & newer acts who represent the current generation of the culture alike in a fearless soundtrack for the times delivering a seismic broadcast of truth, rhythm & resistance. C-Doc’s production here surpasses The Rhyme Animal’s last couple solo efforts Celebration of Ignorance & We Wreck Stadiums, bridging the gap that has been a blatantly obvious stain for quite some time to make the revolution on wax.

Score: 3.5/5

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