The Battle of Los Angeles

The Battle of Los Angeles
Studio album by Rage Against the Machine
Released	November 2, 1999 (1999-11-02)
Recorded	1998 (1998)
Genre	Rap metal, alternative metal, funk metal
Length	45:23
Label	Epic
Producer	Brendan O'Brien and Rage Against the Machine
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Rolling Stone link Sputnikmusic link Vibe (favorable) link Yahoo! Music (favorable) link
Rage Against the Machine chronology
Evil Empire (1996) The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) Renegades (2000)

The Battle of Los Angeles is the third studio album by Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 2, 1999, and over three years after their second studio album, Evil Empire. Between Evil Empire and Los Angeles, the band released a live album, titled Live & Rare.

Album information

The song "Calm Like a Bomb" is featured in the credits of The Matrix Reloaded. The videos to "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify" were directed by documentarian Michael Moore. Both "Testify" and "Guerrilla Radio" are also featured in the video game Rock Band 2, being on-disc and downloadable, respectively.

The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 selling 420,000 copies its first week. That week saw a busy CD release schedule. The album denied Mariah Carey's highly anticipated album the chance to open at #1. "Guerrilla Radio" was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, albeit heavily edited on the Nintendo 64 version, and it is also heavily edited on "Madden NFL 10". Both Time and Rolling Stone named it the Best Album of 1999. It was listed as #53 in SPIN Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005.

The album cover art was an original artwork by the LA Street Phantom aka Joey Krebs aka Joel Jaramillo, a well-known Los Angeles artist who has exhibited at numerous galleries in Los Angeles, New York City and throughout the United States. ^[1] Despite claims to the contrary, the image was not inspired by images from the 1992 street riots of LA or from images of Munich, but by the band's own music and words, and represents one in a series of images of the artist's work, which can also be seen on various street murals in Los Angeles.^{[citation needed]}

The Battle of Los Angeles was heavily influenced by the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. "Testify", "Sleep Now in the Fire", "Voice of the Voiceless", among other songs, include direct quotes from the novel, and mention key Orwellian terms in the lyrics.

In 2003, the album was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Track listing

All songs written and arranged by Rage Against the Machine and all lyrics by Zack de la Rocha.

1. "Testify" – 3:30
2. "Guerrilla Radio" – 3:26
3. "Calm Like a Bomb" – 4:58
4. "Mic Check" – 3:33
5. "Sleep Now in the Fire" – 3:25
6. "Born of a Broken Man" – 4:41
7. "Born as Ghosts" – 3:21
8. "Maria" – 3:48
9. "Voice of the Voiceless" – 2:31
10. "New Millennium Homes" – 3:44
11. "Ashes in the Fall" – 4:36
12. "War Within a Breath" – 3:36

Australian and Japanese editions

13. "No Shelter" – 4:06

Bonus Promo CD/tape

In the US, some retail stores gave a free promo CD to those who pre-ordered the CD. It contained 2 tracks: "Clear the Lane" and "Hadda Be Playing on the Juke Box". In Australia certain chains gave a promo tape to those who pre-ordered titled "New... Live... Rare" which featured "Calm Like a Bomb" and the aforementioned all on one side and repeating on side B. All versions are the same as on their proper CD releases.

Singles

• Guerrilla Radio - 1999
• Sleep Now in the Fire - 2000
• Testify - 2000
• Calm Like a Bomb - 2000

Personnel - "Guilty Parties"

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Awards

• 1999: #1 Rolling Stone Critic Pick (Best Album of 1999)
• 2000: Guerrilla Radio Best Hard Rock Performance Grammy Award

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rage Against the Machine

• Official Website
• Axis of Justice Tom Morello and Serj Tankian's Activist Website "Axis Of Justice"
• Vietnow.org Rage Against The Machine news resource and forum
• The Battle of Los Angeles (album) at Allmusic