The super group…the term probably conjures up images of the Avengers or, Guardians Of The Galaxy among today’s youth (Seriously I’m over it already, can we stop with the comic book movies? Can Marvel or DC like, invent a hero called No Need For A Fucking Film Man?) But musically, it’s a term used when big name artists come together for more than a one-off song…when new bands are formed by merging two already established singers or groups, Eric Clapton helped pioneer this with CREAM but, over the years, the likes of THE HIGHWAY MEN and more recently, ALTER BRIDGE have all come together for the greater good…in 2016, members of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, CYPRESS HILL and PUBLIC ENEMY came together to form PROPHETS OF RAGE, solely intending to tackle the mountain of bullshit that was the American election, using their platform and voice for good, contribute to the revolution and the prospect, for all intents and purposes, was mouth-watering. With a history of strong political opinions and frustration between them, and plenty of material to fuel the creative fire, they dropped their eagerly anticipated debut self-titled album this year…will the prophets profit or are they gonna’ make me rage quit? Let’s find out…
We open up with “Radical Eyes” which is a nice little play on words I will say…musically it’s really quite slow and lethargic with an almost southern-rock groove in it’s bass-heavy riffs, while B-Real and Chuck D question the establishment, minorities getting ignored and mistreated, false information in the media, it’s a serious issue but it’s not really hammered home here as sadly the song is very middle of the road, there’s a lack of passion or, frustration behind it and fails to really ignite the album, a lackluster start this. “Unfuck The World” however is a vast improvement, again, bass driven thanks to Tim Commerford and it too has a solid groove, a slick feel to this one with the rhythm and catchy appeal, it’s an album highlight with a great title…if only life was that simple…while “Legalize Me” is a fittingly laid back, almost blues / classic rock inspired piece praising the devils lettuce…with several states in the US having already decriminalized marijuana use, the song campaigns for complete nationwide legalization, both medical and recreational…quite literally, stoner rock.
Sadly however, for the most part, the albums is a bit of a let-down…there is a truly awful solo rounding off “Living On The 110”, while “Fired A Shot” and especially “Hands Up” later on suffer from a deal of repetition…”Who Owns Who” is another strong political track but once again we find even more poor guitar work, honestly it’s painful, if it’s a solo, Tom Morello deserves to be shot…”The Counteroffensive” provides with nothing more than a pointless 38 second interlude…NO! They should have called it counter-productive, before we eventually finish on “Smashit”…nothing overly special, and in that I guess I’ve summed up this record perfectly. The hype surrounding this collaboration was off the chart and while they’ve delivered on a lyrical front, and I won’t take it away from Tim, the bass really owns it on this record, but with a collection of artists such as this releasing an album, do you really want bass to be the thing that stands out? For the most part generic and a little bit dated on times, there are tracks here that wouldn’t be out of place on a Tony Hawk’s soundtrack…never mind unfucking the world, I’m trying to un-listen to this. [5]
We open up with “Radical Eyes” which is a nice little play on words I will say…musically it’s really quite slow and lethargic with an almost southern-rock groove in it’s bass-heavy riffs, while B-Real and Chuck D question the establishment, minorities getting ignored and mistreated, false information in the media, it’s a serious issue but it’s not really hammered home here as sadly the song is very middle of the road, there’s a lack of passion or, frustration behind it and fails to really ignite the album, a lackluster start this. “Unfuck The World” however is a vast improvement, again, bass driven thanks to Tim Commerford and it too has a solid groove, a slick feel to this one with the rhythm and catchy appeal, it’s an album highlight with a great title…if only life was that simple…while “Legalize Me” is a fittingly laid back, almost blues / classic rock inspired piece praising the devils lettuce…with several states in the US having already decriminalized marijuana use, the song campaigns for complete nationwide legalization, both medical and recreational…quite literally, stoner rock.
Sadly however, for the most part, the albums is a bit of a let-down…there is a truly awful solo rounding off “Living On The 110”, while “Fired A Shot” and especially “Hands Up” later on suffer from a deal of repetition…”Who Owns Who” is another strong political track but once again we find even more poor guitar work, honestly it’s painful, if it’s a solo, Tom Morello deserves to be shot…”The Counteroffensive” provides with nothing more than a pointless 38 second interlude…NO! They should have called it counter-productive, before we eventually finish on “Smashit”…nothing overly special, and in that I guess I’ve summed up this record perfectly. The hype surrounding this collaboration was off the chart and while they’ve delivered on a lyrical front, and I won’t take it away from Tim, the bass really owns it on this record, but with a collection of artists such as this releasing an album, do you really want bass to be the thing that stands out? For the most part generic and a little bit dated on times, there are tracks here that wouldn’t be out of place on a Tony Hawk’s soundtrack…never mind unfucking the world, I’m trying to un-listen to this. [5]
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