Evil Empire — 1996

Background

Evil Empire was released in 1996 as the follow-up to Rage Against the Machine's hugely influential self-titled debut, arriving under considerable pressure to build on that record's fusion of rap, metal and explicitly left-wing political messaging. The album maintained the band's uncompromising political stance, its title itself a direct reference to Ronald Reagan's Cold War-era description of the Soviet Union, repurposed as a critique of American capitalism and foreign policy instead.

Sound

'Bulls on Parade' opens the album with one of Tom Morello's most inventive guitar performances, using turntable-style scratching effects produced entirely on guitar rather than a sample or actual turntable, a technique that became one of his signature contributions to the band's sound. 'People of the Sun' and 'Vietnow' both maintain the band's dense, funk-influenced rhythmic drive paired with Zack de la Rocha's aggressive, politically direct vocal delivery.

Political content

The album's lyrics address American foreign policy, media manipulation, and capitalism with the same directness and specificity as the band's debut, refusing to soften their political messaging despite the commercial pressures of a major label follow-up record. Morello's guitar work throughout continues to blur the line between guitar and turntable textures, an approach that had become one of the most distinctive and widely imitated sounds in 1990s rock.

Legacy

Evil Empire is widely regarded as a worthy successor to Rage Against the Machine's genre-defining debut, successfully maintaining both the band's political conviction and their genuinely inventive fusion of rap, funk and metal. It cemented the band's reputation as one of the few major rock acts of the 1990s willing to combine explicit political radicalism with substantial mainstream commercial success, debuting at number one on the US album chart despite its uncompromising content.