Prophets of Rage - Prophets of Rage


Prophets of Rage
Prophets of Rage
2017
Spotify

The Rage Against the Machine, Chuck D, B Real and DJ Lord collaboration is finally here with their debut self titled record Prophets of Rage. In theory you have two of the most politically subversive acts and a dash of Cypress Hill just to ensure maximum power. All this sounds good on paper, but in practice it's a whole different story. First the music sounds like it could have come off any Rage Against the Machine record, no different. Audioslave suffered a similar issue in that they never really distinguished themselves enough from Rage. I'm not trying to say that Rage Against the Machine isn't good, but their last album came out in 2000, and arguably their best album came out in '92. With that in mind the record sounds dated from the start. Second you cannot help but shake how much like Karaoke this feels. It seems like some friends got together and wanted to sing some Rage Against the Machine songs and this is what we end up with. The formula is too similar and the product never leaves up to what it's trying to emulate. It goes to show that either Zack de la Rocha knew what He was doing when he exited the band, or Tom Morello has not evolved at all. It seems like every other day Morello is trying to start another supergroup of 90s stars, but it rarely works out like you would hope. "Legalize Me" about, you guessed it legal weed is absolutely soulless. B Real singing about where pot is legal as the heavy guitars and drums pound away never connects and feels forced from the start.

The record feels very California especially with tracks like "Living on the 110" a freeway going through downtown Los Angeles. However the rhymes are so basic, the music is exactly the same as every other song and the sentiments are right at surface level. The one bright spot is the DJ Lord scratch driven "The Counteroffensive" unfortunately it's only 37 seconds long, maybe the most scratching anyone can take in one sitting. The message is so tired at this point and the Prophets do little to make it exciting again. The government sucks, weed is cool and rap rock bangs are really the only things you can take away from this record leaving it feeling forced. It is not a long record, but good god is it hard to get through. Every song sounds exactly the same and a song like "Fired A Shot" which is already repetitive as fuck becomes a total slog to get through. You can imagine these songs making a decent impact live onstage, but as an album Prophets of Rage just fully misses the make. Avoid, avoid and avoid.

4.0 out of 10

Comments

Popular Posts