Significant longplayers from yesteryear

16 April 2026

L.A.’s rap-metal rockers RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE released their
2nd full-length EVIL EMPIRE on 16 April 1996, today 30 years ago.

It went straight to #1 in the US.

The album’s title came from a speech by Ronald Reagan in
the 1980s, addressing the Soviet Union as the “evil empire”.

“If you look at the atrocities committed by the U.S. in the latter half
of the 20th century, we feel that tag could be easily used to describe
the U.S.”

Press photo by Niels Van Iperen

Rolling Stone wrote: “Heavy metal has never been much of a forum for political discourse. Rage Against the Machine hope to change that with their inflammatory blend of roaring guitars, barked raps and political activism.

Their lyrics lambaste government corruption, media manipulation, big business, complacency and ambivalence, and the band members practice what they preach.”

Inside artwork

Zack de la Rocha about the LP’s artwork: “The image of the second record
was a little ironic, you know? Considering if you look very closely at the boy’s face,
he symbolizes the power structure in the U.S. and if you look at him, he’s smiling as
if he’s in control.

But if you look deeper into his face, you see that he’s afraid, because he knows what’s
comin (note: now, today, we know too). He knows that poor people in the U.S. are not
going to suffer in the way that they are suffering without taking action.”

SINGLE

ALBUM

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