Rage Against the Machine’s Future Is Uncertain, According to Tom Morello

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Tom Morello: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
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In 2022, Rage Against the Machine embarked on an epic North American tour; however, while the band was supposed to continue touring into 2023, those plans ended up getting put on hold, and per Tom Morello, there’s no telling if or when RATM may get back on the road.

While touring, RATM frontman Zach de la Rocha injured his Achilles tendon, and though he performed several of the band’s 2022 shows sitting down, he was not able to continue with the band’s 2023 touring plans. During a recent conversation with Rolling Stone, Morello was asked about the band’s plans to head back out on the road; but per the RATM guitarist, it’s quite unclear what the band’s future looks like. When asked if the band will head back out on the road once their frontman is healed up, Morello says:

“We’ll see. If there is to be any more shows, we will announce it as a band. I don’t know. I know as much as you do, honestly. Right now we’re in a time of healing. I’m in a time of making music and doing a bunch of stuff. To bring it back to the Hall of Fame conversation, if there never is another show, I think that this tour made the case. It’s not about how much you tour. It’s about what it’s like during those moments when you do. Rage Against the Machine has played 19 shows in the past 12 years. And the resonance of those 19 shows feel, in talking to fans, like those were historical events that further the idea of what that band is like live onstage.”

The interviewer then asks if Rage Against the Machine is on hiatus, or what term Morello would use to confirm the current state of the band. Morello says: “There is no term. Rage Against the Machine is like the ring in Lord of the Rings. It drives men mad. It drives journalists mad. It drives record industry people mad. They want it. They want the thing, and they’re driven mad. If there are Rage shows, if there are not Rage shows, you’ll hear from the band. I do not know. When there is news, it will come from a collective statement from the band. There is no news.”

The interviewer and Morello then go back and forth, with the former pushing Morello to provide a clarifying response to when or if the band plans to get back on the road. Morello provides some vague responses, saying that his conversations with the band since that last tour ended have been about “life.” As far as future tour plans are concerned, Morello tells the interviewer that he has “no news” for them.

The interviewer goes on to ask Morello if he’s “hopeful” there will be RATM shows, to which the guitarist replies: “[Big, long laugh] My only answer to that is ‘bless your heart.’ [Laugh] Let me say, if there are Rage Against the Machine shows, I will be the guitar player. And of course I would love that! It’s awesome. There’s nothing like that feeling.”

It is then pointed out to Morello that some folks may read this interview and feel that he is being evasive and they may assume something is going on within the band. To this, Morello says: “I can’t help that. [Laughs] There’s no…It’s hard to even describe it. But when Rage Against the Machine is going to tour or break up or hold a seance on the Joe Rogan Show, you’ll hear it from Rage Against the Machine. Until such a time, there is not news.”

Morello then goes on to clarify that Rage Against the Machine is not on hiatus.

It’s odd that Morello doesn’t provide a more explicit answer in regard to the band’s future plans. In regard to Morello’s responses, one could assume that perhaps RATM is just not that interested in touring at the moment. But again, without Morello being more explicit, it’s tough to tell.

What do you think of Morello’s points in regard to Rage Against the Machine’s future?

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