The band Tom Morello said “saved hard rock”
Before Nirvana, 1990s kids had little to be proud of in terms of hard rock. Whereas some legacy acts such as Metallica and Megadeth were starting to see some of their biggest songs around that time, most of the newer groups were coming from the Sunset Strip, each with their brand of teased hair and songs that sounded like they were ripped straight out of a manufacturing plant. Around the same time bands like Ratt and Stryper were lighting up the Strip, Tom Morello was melding hip-hop and rock into a perfect marriage with Rage Against the Machine.
While Rage never claimed to be one of the biggest bands in the world, their power was in the ability to adapt their thoughts into musical sledgehammers, hitting their audience with more advanced topics on tracks like ‘Bulls on Parade’ and ‘Killing In the Name’. Though Morello was indebted to the hard rock that came before him, like Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, he pointed to one band from California that truly inspired him.
When asked about some of his favourite acts, Morello cited Jane’s Addiction as one of the reasons why he kept pursuing rock, telling SPIN: “Jane’s Addiction saved and redeemed hard rock music with this tour de force. The band unapologetically embraced bold metal riffs, fused them with underground artistry and brilliant street poetry that created an unprecedented alloy of rock and roll greatness”.
Although Jane’s Addiction may have been more indebted to funk music than anything hard rock, their imprint is still alive in everything Morello has played. Across Rage’s debut album, he approaches riffs like Dave Navarro does, never ashamed of his virtuosic talent or ability to channel Tony Iommi. Despite their trademark differences, something like ‘Mountain Song’ could easily be a warm-up for what was coming a few years later on ‘Bombtrack’.
Then again, one of the biggest influences that Jane’s Addiction offered had little to do with their music. Whereas most bands were hopping onto what was trendy then, Jane’s Addiction’s dedication to being themselves struck a chord with all alternative bands, looking to craft their own identity rather than mining what had come before. Morello embraced that mentality whole-heartedly, using his guitar solos more like noise breaks, often employing different effects pedals and random sounds to create a cacophony of noise over the bed track.
The street poetry angle no doubt had an influence on Zack de la Rocha as well. While they might not have been an overtly political group, their habit of talking about real issues was exactly the same thing Rocha would lay down on every Rage song. Not exactly a rapper or a singer, Rocha’s unique way of vocalising was indebted more to beat poets than anyone else, rambling off the cuff half the time and pointing the finger at corrupt men in power that allow injustices to happen around the world.
Although both Jane’s Addiction and Rage lived outside of the mainstream genres of alternative music, many alternative kids had a healthy respect for what they were bold doing, with Jane’s frontman Perry Farrell orchestrating the massive Lollapalooza festival and Rage inspiring the next legion of alternative metal acts like Korn and Tool. Rage never quite fit in any genre, so it’s only natural that Morello found comfort in another band that didn’t have a true home.
