Evil Empire (album)

For use of the phrase by Ronald Reagan and United States' conservatives, see Evil empire.
Evil Empire
Studio album by Rage Against the Machine
Released April 16, 1996 (1996-04-16)
Recorded December, 1995 – February, 1996 at Cole Rehearsal Studios, Hollywood, California; Kiss Music Studios, Melbourne, Australia
Genre Rap metal, alternative metal
Length 46:57
Label Epic
Producer Brendan O'Brien
Rage Against the Machine chronology
Rage Against the Machine
(1992)		 Evil Empire
(1996)		 The Battle of Los Angeles
(1999)
Singles from Evil Empire
  1. "Bulls on Parade"
    Released: 1996 (1996)
  2. "People of the Sun"
    Released: 1996 (1996)
  3. "Tire Me"
    Released: 1996 (1996)
  4. "Down Rodeo"
    Released: 1997 (1997)
  5. "Vietnow"
    Released: 1997 (1997)

Evil Empire is the second album by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine. It was released on April 16, 1996, almost four years after the band's first, self-titled album.

Contents

Album background

The album's title is taken from the phrase "evil empire", which was used by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and many conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union.[1] The cover is the altered image by Mel Ramos and features Ari Meisel as the subject.[2] The caption "EVIL EMPIRE" and letter "e" on boy's costume were originally "c" and "CRIME BUSTER".[3] Additional themes for the album was created by Barbara Kruger, and some of her artwork appears in the video clip for "Bulls on Parade", which became the first single for the album. As with their debut, five singles were released in total.

Evil Empire debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200. The song "Tire Me" won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance. The tracks "Bulls on Parade" and "People of the Sun" were both nominated for Grammys for Best Hard Rock Performance in separate years.

On May 24, 2000 the album was certified triple platinum.[4]

Promotional 7″

In 1995 the band sent a free 7″ record to promote the upcoming album to everyone who signed up for the Rage Against the Machine fan club promoted in the liner notes of the debut CD as an apology for never having received anything. It came in a plain cardboard colored fold-out with a black-and-white American flag on the cover and the title "Evil Empire" and the band's name all in capitals. On the back was a UPC with marker scribble on the barcode. The A-side was a reissue of the "Evening Session" version of "Bombtrack" listed as "Bombtrack (Live on the BBC)" and the B-side was the then unreleased cover of N.W.A's "Fuck tha Police" recorded live on August 13, 1995, Mumia Benefit, Capitol Ballroom, Washington D.C.

  1. Side A: "Bombtrack" (Live on the BBC)
  2. Side B: "Fuck tha Police"
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [5]
Robert Christgau (A-) [6]
Entertainment Weekly (A-) [7]
Rolling Stone [8]
Q Magazine [9]
Spin (8/10) [10]
Ultimate Guitar (8.6/10) [11]
IGN (9.6/10) [12]
Yahoo! Music: J. Kordosh (mixed) [13]
Yahoo! Music: J. Garza (favorable) [14]

Track listing

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

  1. "People of the Sun" – 2:30
  2. "Bulls on Parade" – 3:49
  3. "Vietnow" – 4:39
  4. "Revolver" – 5:30
  5. "Snakecharmer" – 3:56
  6. "Tire Me" – 3:00
  7. "Down Rodeo" – 5:20
  8. "Without a Face" – 3:36
  9. "Wind Below" – 5:50
  10. "Roll Right" – 4:22
  11. "Year of tha Boomerang" – 4:02

Personnel - "Guilty Parties"

Chart positions

Year Chart Peak
position
1996 Billboard 200[15] 1
UK Album Chart 4
Year Single Chart Peak
position
1996 "Bulls on Parade" Billboard Hot 100 62
Modern Rock Tracks 11
Mainstream Rock Tracks 36
UK Singles Chart 8
"People of the Sun" UK Singles Chart 26

Awards

References

  1. ^ Staff report (May 3, 1996). Rage Builds "Evil Empire" MTV
  2. ^ Vroom Journal (August 30, 2004) Covers: Visual Artists and the Music Industry
  3. ^ Mark Malazarte Crime Buster by Mel Ramos 1993
  4. ^ RIAA RIAA Certification search results Note: type “Evil Empire” (without quotation marks) in field "Title:"
  5. ^ http://www.allmusic.com/album/evil-empire-r233573/review
  6. ^ http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=rage+against+the+machine
  7. ^ http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,292116,00.html
  8. ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/7480/37323
  9. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1087869/a/Evil+Empire.htm
  10. ^ http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/1087869/a/Evil+Empire.htm
  11. ^ http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/reviews/compact_discs/rage_against_the_machine/evil_empire/index.html
  12. ^ http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/452/452755p1.html
  13. ^ http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12035776
  14. ^ http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12025883
  15. ^ http://www.billboard.com/#/album/rage-against-the-machine/evil-empire/183962

External links

Preceded by
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette		 Billboard 200 number-one album
May 4-May 10, 1996		 Succeeded by
Fairweather Johnson by Hootie & the Blowfish
Rage Against the Machine
Studio albums
Rage Against the Machine (1992) · Evil Empire (1996) · The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) · Renegades (2000)
Live albums
Demo albums
Video
Singles
Other songs
Tours
Related acts
Related articles