Members of Rage Against the Machine Rumored to Team Up With Chuck D and B-Real

Recent rumors about a possible Rage Against the Machine reunion have caused quite a ruckus through the internet. However, these whispers seem to be unfounded, as the band denies any formal reunion plans. But this vine of hopeful nostalgia still produced some interesting fruit, if the latest iteration of these rumors is true.

It turns out we may have a new supergroup, consisting of RATM guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford, and drummer Brad Wilk, along with Public Enemy’s Chuck D. and B-Real from Cypress Hill. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love another opportunity to see a full RATM lineup with Zack De La Rocha, but I think the metalsphere consensus about this being a “letdown” are a bit overblown.

First of all, the blending of these artistic minds is not unprecedented. On their 2000 album of covers (side-note: what is it with sought-after bands who fall apart soon after making cover albums…Spaghetti Incident, anyone?), Renegades, RATM played a fantastic cover of Cypress Hill’s “How I Could Just Kill a Man.” B-Real is no stranger to dabbling in the world of heavy music himself – see the “Bones” disc on Cypress Hill’s 2000 album. And it was Public Enemy that contributed, along with Anthrax, to one of the better examples of rap and metal mixed together, “Bring the Noise” (the unfortunate results that followed later notwithstanding).

I think we should try and keep an open mind about where this is going. With the chaotic and cartoonish political season we’ve been subjected to, there’s definitely a lot of inspiration to go around for artists like these. And regardless of how you feel about their past musical endeavours (or their politics for that matter), it will be worth hearing what gets played live, and if any studio time comes as a result. I think Chuck-D could do a nasty rendition of “Down Rodeo,” and I’d be stoked to hear B-Real try his hand at “Bombtrack.” Perhaps we could get a guitar-driven version of “Party for Your Right to Fight!” Who knows?

For my part, I’m really just waiting for Zack to put Inside Out back together.