Rage Against the Machine Spin-Off Happening at a Fitting Time

2016-05-19

Story by Anne Erickson

Members of Rage Against the Machine are teasing a 2016 comeback

It’s not a full-fledged Rage Against the Machine reunion — yet, at least — but members of Rage Against the Machine are gearing up for some major 2016 news. Yesterday (May 18), Rage Against the Machine tweeted out a link the website ProphetsOfRage.com, which showed a countdown clock to May 31. This got fans thinking Rage was planning some kind of reunion.

Here’s what’s really going on. A source close to the band has told Rolling Stone that, “this is not a Rage-specific reunion. There’s a lot more to it. There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of exciting news to be revealed.” The source also says the Prophets of Rage project will include “some of the members of Rage” and at least one live performance.

According to Billboard, the three members of Rage — guitarist Tom Morello, bass player Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk — are joining forces with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real to fashion a supergroup called Prophets of Rage and will perform songs by all three bands.

Visitors at ProphetsofRage.com can enter their email address on the website, and they’ll get get an email back with the subject head “Clear the Way” with the message “Clear the way for the prophets of rage,” a line from the Public Enemy song “Prophets of Rage.” The band is using the hashtag #takethepowerback to promote the news. The website keeps going down, because of the heavy traffic load.

The timing of members of Rage resurfacing — even not as a complete reunion — is appropriate. Rage has always been a political band, standing up for left-wing policies. Back in 1999, the guys somehow predicted Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy with a clip in their video for “Sleep Now in the Fire,” which depicted a guy holding a sign that said, “Donald Trump for President.” Now, Trump, indeed, is running for president.

Rage Against the Machine’s last performance as a complete band was in 2011.

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Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Alternative, Features, Music, Rock

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