Prophets of Rage
Prophets of Rage
Release Date: Sep 15, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock
Record label: Fantasy
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Album Review: Prophets of Rage by Prophets of Rage
Fairly Good, Based on 9 Critics
Based on rating 4/5
Some fans struggled to accept it when members of Los Angeles rap-rock renegades Rage Against The Machine formed Audioslave with the late Chris Cornell, who swapped RATM vocalist Zach de la Rocha’s politically-charged raps for classic rock crooning. Those fans may have an easier time with Prophets of Rage, which sees the same set of musicians team up with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real. Guitarist Tom Morello told Rolling Stone: “We’re not a supergroup.
Based on rating 7.5/10
Clearly, RATM guitarist Tom Morello feels the same. In reaction to the news that Donald Trump planned to run for the Presidency, he called up his ex-bandmates, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford, before recruiting Public Enemy 's Chuck D and DJ Lord and Cypress Hill's B-Real… and Prophets of Rage were born. When we saw the band live earlier this year during their whirlwind visit to the UK, it was a bedlam-inducing rocket ride through the best of the members' respective catalogues that raised fists in honour of Corbyn and middle fingers to Trump.
Based on rating 3/5
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian recently recalled a conversation from the early 90s where he had noted that the only way Rage Against The Machine could have become more exciting would have been – with no disrespect to the band’s vocalist Zack de la Rocha – to install Public Enemy’s Chuck D as their frontman. More than two decades on, that whimsical notion became a thunderous reality, with the added bonus of Cypress Hill’s inimitable B-Real as Chuck’s co-rapper and an accommodating world providing guitarist Tom Morello and his new band with the most perfectly fucked-up political backdrop. Until mere weeks ago, Prophets Of Rage’s gigs were dominated by covers of RATM, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill tunes, but new material was always a distinct possibility, and this 12-track eruption of socially enlightened fury is the end result.
Based on rating 6/10
When three-quarters of Rage Against The Machine announced they were uniting with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real as Prophets of Rage most rock fans had the same reaction: 'Well that’s fucking cool'. It is cool, isn’t it? Comfortably the most successful political agitators in alt-rock meeting the fury of early hip-hop’s most righteous MC is a meaty enough idea. Adding in B-Real – no stranger to slick couplets and serious activism himself – is another layer of cool (along for the ride is late-period PE turntablist DJ Lord, although, being absolutely honest, it’s not massively clear what he’s contributing outside of the live show.
Based on rating 3/5
This rap-rock supergroup – featuring Public Enemy's Chuck D and DJ Lord, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, and Cypress Hill's B-Real – revved up old PE and RATM classics on their debut 2016 EP. The band's first full-length contains 12 hardrocking lefty diatribes against government conspiracies ("Drones – they got ya tapped, they got ya phone," Chuck D raps in "Take Me Higher"), civil injustice ("We fuckin' matter," he declares on "Who Owns Who") and, in the case of B-Real's rhymes, restrictive weed laws ("Legalize Me"). The only thing they're missing is Rage singer Zack de la Rocha's bloodthirsty snarl.
Based on rating 6/10
Prophets of Rage is Tim Commerford, Tom Morello and Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine, DJ Lord and Chuck D of Public Enemy and B-Real of Cypress Hill. They formed last year in response to the heated political situation in the U.S. Who's in it and what they're about is exciting; the music, though, is decent but not mind-blowing. Zach De La Rocha's more aggressive, hardcore-influenced style suited the "Rage" sound incredibly well, Chuck D's bullish baritone and B-Real's nasal sniping contrast each other nicely, and hearing Tom Morello ….
Based on rating C-
Given the depth and wealth of their combined catalogs, one might expect the members of rap-metal supergroup Prophets of Rage to scrape by without borrowing slogans from other, younger artists. And yet here they are on their self-titled debut, transforming a song title by Angel Olsen into the chorus and rallying cry of their own single, .
Based on rating 2/5
Supergroups are hard as all hell to pull off. Chances are Tom Morello knows this (and if anyone would know it’d be him, right?). In May last year Prophets of Rage were finally revealed as a collaborative group project between members of Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill, after a brief but cryptic PR campaign designed to pique interest.
Opinion: Mediocre
If you remember my review of Prophets Of Rage’s The Party’s Over EP, you’d recall my prediction that based on what was (and wasn’t) on that release that this band, despite it’s remarkable line up, would be a major flop — think the Hindenburg in 1937. And with their release of their self-titled full-length it is clear that the band has doubled down now on a project is not working out well to say the least. The opening track “Radical Eyes,” which if you haven't noticed yet, is based on a pun in the title. But this track is a perfect example really of guitarist Tom Morello is either being held back or just phoning it in when to comes to his contributions to the album overall.
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