Evil Empire

Vorlage:Infobox Album Evil Empire is the second album by Rage Against the Machine. It was released on April 15, 1996, almost four years after the band's first, self-titled album.

The album's title is taken from the phrase evil empire, which was used by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and many Western conservatives in describing the former Soviet Union.

The overall sound of the album differed from the group's other three albums: their previous self-titled debut, The Battle of Los Angeles and Renegades three years later. Stylewise, the album continues to blur the line between rap and rock, but unlike the prior (and subsequent) albums' large and looming heavy metal riffs dominating, the album more involves the rhythms and Zack de la Rocha's rap-style vocals. The bizarre time signature that concludes the end of "Year Of Tha Boomerang" is the prime example, though the style can be easily seen on (roughly) 8 of the 11 tracks. To some this proved to be a more popular style, to others it was less favorable. The track "Bulls on Parade" became the first single and, as with their debut, five singles were released in total.

Interestingly, Tom Morello once remarked in an interview that recording and writing sessions for Evil Empire were extremely difficult, as conflict ensued within the band over musical direction. Rage Against The Machine nearly broke up at this time, but decided to continue on after the completion of the album.

Evil Empire debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200. The song "Tire Me" won the 1996 Grammy award for Best Metal Performance.

Track listing

1. "People of the Sun" – 2:30
2. "Bulls on Parade" – 3:51
3. "Vietnow" – 4:39
4. "Revolver" – 5:30
5. "Snakecharmer" – 3:55
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" – 3:59

Singles

• Bulls on Parade - 1996
• People of the Sun - 1996
• Tire Me - 1996
• Down Rodeo - 1997
• Vietnow - 1997

Credits

• Rage Against the Machine – producer, art direction
• Zack de la Rocha – vocals, lyricist
• Tom Morello – guitar
• Tim Commerford – bass (credited as "tim bob")
• Brad Wilk – drums
• Nick DiDia – engineer, recording technician
• Clay Harper – assistant angineer

• Lisa Johnson – photography
• Paul Kosky – recording technician
• Bob Ludwig – mastering
• Brendan O'Brien – producer
• Andy Wallace – mixing
• Caram Costanzo – second engineer
• Dave Rat – recording technician

Chart positions

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1996	The Billboard 200	#1
1996	UK Album Chart	#4

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1996	"Bulls on Parade"	Modern Rock Tracks	#11
1996	"Bulls on Parade"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	#36
1996	"Bulls on Parade"	UK Singles Chart	#8
1996	"People of the Sun"	UK Singles Chart	#26

Awards

• 1996 Grammy Award - Best Metal Performance for "Tire Me"

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