No matter what you think about the current political situation in the U.S, the best thing about it is that it has reunited one of the greatest political rock groups in history in Rage Against the Machine, albeit under a different name with different front men. With Chuck D (Public Enemy) and B-Real (Cypress Hill) now holding the microphones, because seemingly nothing and no one can bring Zach De La Rocha back, The Party’s Over is a five-track EP designed to draw on the political angst people are feeling now, the same way they did in the ‘90s when these acts were at their peak. It features two recorded singles and three live cuts, mixing originals and reworks to form perhaps a taste of what’s to come.
The first question that needs answering is of course, have Chuck D and B-Real done enough to replace De La Rocha? Chuck D is clearly the better of the two, coming from Public Enemy with political albums such as It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back and Fear Of A Black Planet, he was almost a readymade replacement. Chuck was able to take his trademark vocals to a different band and bring the same anger and outrage that made Public Enemy so great. B-Real is good, the effort is there, but with a naturally less aggressive voice, second fiddle was always going to be the spot, especially when Chuck D is so obviously at home here.
Musically, the songs are as classic Rage Against The Machine as you could get. Powerful drums, thumping bass and unmistakable Tom Morello guitar riffs; any of these tracks could have been lifted from a past Rage album and it would be impossible to tell the difference.
Hopefully this EP is a taste of things to come, on it’s own, two singles and three live tracks are not a whole lot to go off. In a perfect world, Prophets Of Rage release an earth shattering album of militant fury right before the U.S election but until then, its simply a teaser of what could be.
BY NATHAN QUATTRUCCI
