The Battle Of Los Angeles

The final album by the politically active metal/funk band is by far their best. Even though it's a combination of all the genres I dislike--rap, metal, with a little bit of funk--it's still one of the most powerful albums I've ever listened to. The whole thing is just so incredibly catchy that it makes you want to listen to it over and over again. One thing that makes the band so great is that they're so much different than any other band today or in the 90s when they were most popular. They always took a stand and they did whatever they felt was right to do, whether it was putting upsidedown American flags up on stage during a performance on Saturday Night Live or going on stage completely naked at Lollapalooza. No other band has ever had such revolutionary ideas, and it's very unfortunate that they broke up. Anyway, Los Angeles is a great album, and I recommend it even if you don't like crappy music.

Had it not been for the strange covers release following, TBOLA would have been a good enough last release for this trailblazing group. It sounds like their most accessible, least antagonistic work, breaking down the uniquely aggressive rap-rock dynamic into almost an exact science, leaving a flabby midsection which negates that added spark of rawness which truly brilliant Rage tracks always teetered against. Even so, Morello and friends can do no worse then offer a perfectly solid release of standardized Rage mechanics.

Rage it is one of the greates bands of the 90s and on this album they prove it! It starts with Testify which is a really good song, and just keeps getting better and better, you just wanna keep listening to it over and over again, I totally recommend it!! for an excellent price it is a must have!!

This album is both defiant and poetic. Classic Rage Against the Machine. Rage's innovative combinations of hip hop, funk, and hard rock have influenced bands such as Kongcrete who followed a decade later. Rage and their successors Kongcrete showed that - when it comes to social justice, anger, and other human emotions and ideals - there is no distinction between black and white. We're all on the same boat. Battle of L.A. to this day remains at the top of my playlist.

Why is it that all the negative, one-star ratings of this album rant about its anti-capitalist messages and fail to discuss - um - the music?

Solid, rocking angry music. Yes, it is political - and not everyone's gonna agree with the politics - but then imagine political rock that was in favour of the system... it would be boring.

Listen to this album and decide for yourself...