TOM MORELLO Talks RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's Reunion Tour And Band's Future

Tom Morello spoke to Rolling Stone magazine about RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's future plans following the cancelation of the band's North American tour last October. The trek was scrapped three months after RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE frontman Zack De La Rocha severed his left Achilles tendon, leaving a mere eight inches of the tendon intact.

De La Rocha's injury happened during RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's July 11, 2022 concert in Chicago. The incident occurred during the fourth song of the second show on the group's long-delayed "Public Service Announcement" reunion tour. For the remainder of the trek, Zack performed while seated and the shows went off without a hitch, even though stagehands had to carry the vocalist on and off the stage every night.

Speaking about the show where De La Rocha first got injured, Morello said: "Zack toughed it out that night. And for the next 17 shows, he was more compelling as a frontman sitting on a box in the middle of the stage than 99 percent of the frontmen in the history of all time. It was completely unexpected, but the fact that he soldiered on … and he didn't just soldier on, but he was able to be that electric, compelling, powerful transmitter of truth that he is, while remaining fairly immobile, was fairly impressive. I didn't hear from one fan that felt the show was diminished in power by one percent."

Pressed about when RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE might perform again, or whether or not they were even still a band, Morello said: "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… If RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE was going on a hiatus, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE would say, 'We're going on a hiatus.' That has not happened. I will say that I understand and respect the frustration. There is a sort of frustration to not knowing when you're in the band! But that's led to a lot of great music."

Morello is currently preparing for upcoming dates with his band the FREEDOM FIGHTERS ORCHESTRA.

De La Rocha injured his leg while he and his bandmates were performing "Bullet In The Head", a classic song from the group's 1992 self-titled debut album.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's comeback tour marked the first time the reunited rap-metal quartet had hit the road together since 2011.

Prior to the most recent tour, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE last played together at L.A. Rising and has resisted calls for a reunion, with De La Rocha previously believed to be the lone holdout. Morello and his fellow RAGE bandmates Tim Commerford (bass) and Brad Wilk (drums) later teamed up with PUBLIC ENEMY's Chuck D. and CYPRESS HILL's B-Real in the similarly styled PROPHETS OF RAGE.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE recorded three original studio albums and one set of covers before breaking up in 2000. The group reformed in 2007 but only played sporadic gigs and never a full tour until last year's run of dates.