I assume I am right in thinking that many of you reading this will at least of heard of Rage Against The Machine. I am guessing many of you will be fans of them, and like me would have been jumping with joy at the rumoured news previously in the year that RATM will be writing new material. I certainly was for one thing. So we wake up to reports from Blabbermouth, through Metalhammer, that RATM will NOT be recording this year after all, ( Colon, Opening brackets all round then).
RATM havn't recorded since 2000's patchy covers album Renegades, but since this have disbanded, reunited again in 2007, headlined numerous festivals across the globe, including 2008's Reading and Leed's festivals and 2010's Download festival, and even had a UK Christmas number one in 2009, not bad accolades.
These are truly worthwhile accolades, and most importantly they show how important they still are to fans of this form of music, being one of this genre's greatest bands of the 1990's, with much to say and not being afraid to say it all, not being afraid to take action concerning the major issues of the time, and a long the way making 3 truly excellent albums and being very influential in the forming of the much popular for the time Nu-Metal genre period, and they still have a major fanbase and a huge demand for their live show 11 years after their last recording, and more so than their last original recording.
With all this in mind, the fact that they still have no concrete plans to record a new album, for me, is just not good enough. This has not been billed as simply a reunion tour or shows (Faith No More split again recently but at least they were announced under a reunion tour and it didn't seem likely that new material would appear), this seems more as proper return, and the touring has been going for 4 years. Currently, with no original material seemingly on the horizon, and with the likes of Tom Morello still making original music with side projects, the RATM tours are now seeming to be just a trip down memory lane and nothing more.
If anyone has seen RATM play in the last few years (for me, Download 2010, on my birthday, epic!!) you will know that they are on seriously good form live, with such a chemistry between them now that back in their volatile period before their split may not have been, they are playing seriously well and appear to be in some of the best form of their careers, so a new album from them would be more than welcome, and could easily match their previous material from an almost flawless back catalogue (The Renegades covers album doesn't completely work, but there is no faulting Evil Empire, The Battle For Los Angeles and of course their self titled début), so why the hell is it not happening.
With them in seriously great form, and yet no plans it seems to record, it seems that RATM do not have plans to necessarily stop touring either. In which case this would make RATM nothing more than a nostalgia act at the moment, and the fans who have stuck with them in this whole time deserve to see their heroes prove that they can still back up their reputation with more stellar material, not just the same sets over and over again. Rage are undoubtedly one of the greatest bands in the metal genre, they are an incredible live band, have an amazing back catalogue and more importantly are in excellent condition and are proving with side projects that they still have creativity flowing. So please prove to your fans that you do still have it, don't just rest on your reputation and your back catalogue, prove that you still have a real place in the music scene, and teach some of the new kids a lesson in how to kick serious arse!
No comments:
Post a Comment