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Evil Empire (album)

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For use of the phrase by Ronald Reagan and United States' conservatives, see Evil empire.
Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
Los Angeles Times[6]
IGN9.6/10[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Spin8/10[10]
The Village VoiceA–[11]

Evil Empire is the second studio album by the American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, released on April 16, 1996 by Epic Records, only four years after the band's debut album. 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.[12] Evil Empire debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The song "Tire Me" won a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. The tracks "Bulls on Parade" and "People of the Sun" were also both nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified 3x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on May 24, 2000.[13]

Album background

The title "Evil Empire" is taken from what Rage Against The Machine see as Ronald Reagan's slander of the Soviet Union in the eighties, which the band feels could just as easily apply to the United States. Rage is currently finishing up a European tour but they'll be back on our evil U.S. soil for a tour in late July.

— Zack de la Rocha, excerpt from interview[14]

The cover is the altered image by Mel Ramos and features Ari Meisel as the subject.[15] The caption "EVIL EMPIRE" and letter "e" on the boy's costume were originally "c" and "CRIME BUSTER".[16] Additional themes for the album were 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.

The inside of the CD booklet shows a picture of a pile of various political and philosophical books including A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Capital, Volume I by Karl Marx, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, and The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell.[17]

Promotion

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 at a benefit concert for Mumia Abu-Jamal at the Capitol Ballroom in Washington, D.C.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Zack de la Rocha; all music is composed by Rage Against the Machine

No.TitleLength
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
Total length:46:34

Credits

Personnel

Rage Against the Machine
Technical
Artwork and design
  • Rage Against the Machine – art direction
  • Aimée Macauley – art direction
  • Lisa Johnson – photography

Studios

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[45] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[47] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Awards

References

  1. ^ Lipkin, Gregg (November 18, 2009). "Masters of the Form: Rage Against the Machine 1996 - Evil Empire". PopMatters. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Thomas. Evil Empire at AllMusic. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  3. ^ Kot, Greg (April 25, 1996). "Saved By a Guitar". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Rage Against the Machine". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0857125958.
  5. ^ Tom Sinclair (1996-04-19). "Evil Empire Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  6. ^ Cromelin, Richard (April 14, 1996). "Album Review". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  7. ^ IGN Music. "Reader Review: Evil Empire - Music Feature at IGN". Uk.music.ign.com. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  8. ^ "Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 1996-04-16. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  9. ^ Jon Wiederhorn (1996-04-18). "Evil Empire | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-07.
  10. ^ "Spins". Spin. May 1996. p. 103.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 23, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved August 13, 2016.
  12. ^ Staff report (May 3, 1996). Rage Builds "Evil Empire" MTV
  13. ^ RIAA RIAA Certification search results Note: type “Evil Empire” (without quotation marks) in field "Title:"
  14. ^ de la Rocha, Zacarías Manuel "Zack" (May 3, 1996). "Rage Builds "Evil Empire"". MTV. MTV.com. Retrieved 7 April 2013. The title "Evil Empire" is taken from what Rage Against The Machine see as Ronald Reagan's slander of the Soviet Union in the eighties, which the band feels could just as easily apply to the United States. Rage is currently finishing up a European tour but they'll be back on our evil U.S. soil for a tour in late July.
  15. ^ Vroom Journal (August 30, 2004) Covers: Visual Artists and the Music Industry
  16. ^ Mark Malazarte Crime Buster by Mel Ramos 1993
  17. ^ http://www.ratm.net/book.html
  18. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire" (in German). Hung Medien.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire" (in French). Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Rage Against the Machine: Evil Empire" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  24. ^ "Lescharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  25. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  27. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Hung Medien.
  30. ^ "Rage Against the Machine | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
  31. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  33. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  34. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  35. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  36. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade" (in French). Les classement single.
  37. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade". Top 40 Singles.
  38. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade". VG-lista.
  39. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade". Singles Top 100.
  40. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  41. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  42. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  43. ^ "Rage Against the Machine Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard.
  44. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  45. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Music Canada.
  46. ^ "British album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Evil Empire in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  47. ^ "American album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – Evil Empire". Recording Industry Association of America.
Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
May 4-May 10, 1996 		Succeeded by
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