TOM MORELLO Says His 'Soldier In The Army Of Love' Single Is 'Probably The Heaviest Song' He Has Released 'In Some Time'

At this month's Download festival in the United Kingdom, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello spoke to Guitar Interactive Magazine about his upcoming solo single, "Soldier In The Army Of Love". Due on June 28, the song, which was co-written with his "guitar wizard son" Roman Morello, was described by Tom as "a generational rock anthem from the Morellos." "Soldier In The Army Of Love" is the first single from Tom's first-ever full-length solo rock album, due later in the year.

"That's a shredding guitar solo on ['Soldier In The Army Of Love']," Tom said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "I wish I could say it was me. During lockdown, when everybody else was baking bread, [my son Roman] was putting in his eight hours a day. So I've been relegated to be the rhythm guitar player in the family now. But no, one day I was walking by his bedroom and he was playing these awesome Drop D heavy riffs. I'm, like, 'What is that?' And he's, like, 'I just came up with 'em.' He's, like, 'Dad, do you think these riffs go together?' I'm, like, 'Yeah, I think those riffs go together.' And so we did this song, 'Soldier In The Army Of Love', he wrote the riffs. I produced it and kind of played on it. But the guitar solo is him as well. And so with Father's Day around the corner, I'm very, very proud to be making probably the heaviest song I've released in some time, [and it's] with my 13-year-old."

Speaking about the overall feel of his upcoming album, Tom said: "I've made a bunch of solo records, but this is the one that really has a pure rock [flavor to it]. I made alternative collaborations and electronic collaborations and folk music records. But this is a Tom Morello solo rock record, and ['Soldier In The Army Of Love' is] a very fitting first single for it."

Regarding the musical direction of the upcoming LP, Tom said: "On the one hand, it's gonna lean very heavy into like the Morellian riffs of RAGE and AUDIOSLAVE ilk, but there's also a [Bruce Springsteen's 1978 album] 'Darkness On The Edge Of Town' component to it as well. There likely will be some collaborations, but it's not collaboration dependent."

As for when fans can expect to get the album, Morello said: "I have a summer tour that interrupted the recording process. So I really wanted to get this song out, 'Soldier In The Army Of Love'. We open the set with it every night. It's been just crushing. And so I wanted to have like a big summer rock jam to play. I think the second single's gonna be ready probably early fall and then finish the record then, hopefully before the end of the year."

Last year, Tom Morello shared footage to Instagram of Roman playing RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's "Killing In The Name" with Tom's RAGE bandmates Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk while the band was on tour in 2022.

"Upon our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction I'd like to say thank you to all the RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE fans who over the course of 30+ years have been the heart and soul of the music," Morello wrote in the clip's accompanying caption.

"One of my favorite memories is my son Roman (who became a fan on tour) rocking Killing In The Name with Tim & Brad at a soundcheck in 2022."

In March 2023, Tom told Rolling Stone magazine that Roman could already outplay him when it came to lead guitar, despite the fact that he was only 11 at the time.

"I've been very inspired by my 11-year-old son," Tom told the magazine. "I've been relegated to being the rhythm guitar player in my family now because my 11-year-old can shred circles around me. I've been inspired by him. He's been writing some riffs, and I've been writing some riffs. It's been fun."

Roman Morello previously recorded a solo on fellow child prodigy Nandi Bushell's 2021 single "The Children Will Rise Up". The pair worked with the elder Morello to write the original anthem on which a swell of children's voices promised that they would not be silenced when it came to shouting from the rooftops about environmental injustice.

Tom was the sole member of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE who attended the band's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony last November at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Rock Hall induction came after the band appeared on six ballots.

In October 2022, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE canceled its North American tour, three months after singer Zack De La Rocha severed his left Achilles tendon, leaving a mere eight inches of the tendon intact.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's comeback tour, which was first announced in 2019 and then delayed several times due to the pandemic, marked the first time the reunited rap-metal quartet had hit the road together since 2011.