Band:	Rage Against The Machine
Album:	The Battle Of Los Angeles
Style:	Alternative metal, Nu metal
Release date:	November 02, 1999
Guest review by:	omne metallum

01. Testify
02. Guerrilla Radio
03. Calm Like A Bomb
04. Mic Check (Once Hunting, Now Hunted)
05. Sleep Now In The Fire
06. Born Of A Broken Man
07. Born As Ghosts
08. Maria
09. Voice Of The Voiceless
10. New Millenium Homes
11. Ashes In The Fall
12. War Within A Breath
13. No Shelter [Australian and Japanese editions bonus]

Over twenty years and several reformations later, The Battle Of Los Angeles is still as vital and relevant today as it was back in the halcyon days of 1999. The ball of anger and injustice that was Rage Against The Machine smashed down the walls for a second time and created another one of the best alternative metal albums of all time. From start to end, The Battle Of Los Angeles is an enticing listen throughout.

Where the band fumbled the ball slightly with Evil Empire, they learnt their lessons, and took the ball and ran as hard as they ever had. Writing up 12 songs that burn bright and leave you finding yourself drawn in like a moth to flame; "Sleep Now In The Fire" indeed.

It is songs like "Guerilla Radio" and "Calm Like A Bomb" that get pushed to the forefront of your mind owing to their in your face energy, but that isn't the only strength to the album. The more funk/rap-focused tracks like "Born As Ghosts" and "Voice Of The Voiceless" are just as powerful, they just switch up the method of attack.

This is probably where the biggest fault with the album lays; much of the more explosive songs are at the start of the record and the more funk/rap tracks are put towards the back. On top of sounding like two different albums were just welded together, it does feel like the band fly out of the gate at full speed before gradually shifting down a gear. While this doesn't mean any tracks are better or worse than the other, it just feels like less of a coherent listening experience. While "New Millennium Homes" and "War Within A Breath" offer a kick up the ass late in the record, it just does little to make the album feel whole rather than two halves.

It is offset to an extent by the band giving each song an equal dose of their unique style and talent, with Morello once again throwing out some hypnotic guitar work, from the explosive "Testify" to the more subdued by no less impressive "Ashes In The Fall". De La Rocha ensures that the revolution will be heard at the very least, if not rallied to his cause by some of the most scathing commentary on the world of sociopolitics. Switching between full throated attack and subtle but no less adrenaline-inducing rapping, he balances both elements well. Wilk and Commerford are the key to The Battle Of Los Angeles's success; bridging all the varying elements and sounds of the band, they serve as the constant throughout.

If you are someone who doesn't like to mix politics with music, then the music is strong enough to compensate for that and give you plenty to focus on. De La Rocha is one hell of a cherry on top, but take him out of the mix and Rage Against The Machine are still as an enticing listen (though are strengthened by his presence).

It's a battle for the ages all right, and though Rage Against The Machine would ultimately lose the war and fold not long after the album's release, The Battle Of Los Angeles is one hell of a last stand (discounting Renegades anyway) and one that saw the band give as good as they got before fragmenting.