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"What on earth are they thinking?"

Zak "eeeeEEEAARRHHHGGGG" De la Rocha left Rage Against The Machine to be angry somewhere else by himself.
So the rest of the band (including the stupidly named YtimK) looked for a replacement.
Many names were bandied about:

Chuck D - Now that would be a god-like matching
B Real - Yeah right
At The Drive-In Singer - because he sounds the same.

But they have finally announced who it is.
Ready? ....*drumroll*....Chris Cornell.

Yup, ol' Mr Soundgarden is in RATM.
And that's a big EH? from me. I just can't see it.
Cornell has some lungs, that's for sure but c'mon...can you ever stomach a lusty "Kiilliiiiiiiiing in the naaaaame offffffffff" with 3 different octaves per line?
Doesn't work.
You need someone angry and happy to shout until he gets a red-face and a headache.
Having Mr Vocal range just isn't the same.

I saw RATM twice and they were both incendiary shows, two of the best (if scary) that I've ever been to.
And I've seen Soundgarden twice, and whilst I like the music? The live shows were rubbish (apart from bass playing Ben Shepard, that boy knows his rock stances).

Zack...boy is that one peeved man.
I'm trying to imagine the misery he caused his parents when he hit puberty.
We're notoriously grumpy kids at that age, but jesus...Zack being even more angry, imagine that.
"Zack dear, can you tidy your room up?....Zack? Why are you trembling? Do you know you've gone purple?"
"aaarrrrRRRGGGGGHHHHHh Yeah! No tidy the room...AARRGGHHH...Zapista Revolution Muddyfunster...AAARGGGHHHHHH"
"Oh Zack, please calm down"
"....sorry mum"

The Battle of New Mexico is a fantastic DVD.
If anyone doubts where Rage are coming from, watch this DVD and listen to their albums.
Then put on Limp Bizkit and see how utterly retarded Durst & Co are.

Zach is one of the most hardcore guys I've ever seen.
Refused, and held true, to ever give interviews to anybody within mainstream media.
And that's a fact.
There isn't one single interview with him on tv or in a magazine. The other members, sure, but not De La Rocha.
You have to admire that.

And realise, sooner rather than later, that Limp Bizkit are musical half-wits (without Borland) and Durst is a typical meat-head mysoginist thug with a stupid hat.

The End.

I don't know if Chuck D is angry enough anymore. Perhaps if we sent him hate mail for next few years he would regain some of his rage. I keep getting the horrible image of him rapping about Napster or against Lars Ulrich. The horrible irony is that Rage, or their label, had all the fans with Rage mp3s booted off Napster and I was one of them. So much for the sustained anti-corporatism...

On the unreplacabilitiness of Zach point, I bought m brother the battle of mexico city DVD for Christmas and it was too tempting not to watch, so I stuck it on after he had gone to bed. If you watch it and watch his anger and involvement then it's obvious that without him Rage just aren't Rage anymore. I mean it will be a great band with Cornell, but I really can't see them treading the same territory.

At least Rage finished on a high note, I remember cringing when I heard they were going to release a covers album, but damn it was good. It also contains the sole example of Zach de la Rocha singing. It didn't quite match the first album, but then it's a pretty hard thing to do. When Joseph Heller was asked why he had never written anything better than "Catch-22" he replied "has anybody?" I think Rage could saythe same, at least within the rap metal/rock genre. Actually cut out the rap metal, it's actually insulting to even imply an obscure link with Fred Durst.

Are there any websites with new material on because I've heard that they've completed an album in the studio?

Agreed.

You just cannot draft in a Zack-a-like, but at the same time you can't put someone like Cornell in there.
He's a classical rock vocalist, and he has one of the few voices I would consider amazing.
But he just wouldn't suit RATM if they continued with their back catalogue.
Just utterly different styles.

I can see Chuck D doing it, now that would be an almighty rumble of a band.

Solskjaer_24 wrote:
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I
> think it's great they've decided to stick together, but 'trying' to replace Zack
> with a less aggresive vocalist who can reach every note, just won't be as
> effective! Chester Bennington can reach every note, but he also unleashes the
> power of his vocal chords and feelings in each song. This 'new guy' who I've
> never heard of just won't be like that (according to what you say), and I have a
> feeling Rage will start to fall like Limp Bizkit have.

Just NO

N-O
no no no no no no

Chris Cornell is a brilliant vocalist, so you can stick that poncy tattooed fool where the sun don't shine. That reminds me, listen to Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. An anthem for the alternative contingent before nu-metal kiddy boppers got in on the act. Rage never were, are, now will be anything like Limp Bizkit. The issue here is not about Cornell's vocal ability. If you hadn't noticed Zach de la Rocha had a unique style, listen to anything by Rage and it is absolutely clear that anyone who tried to mimmick the guy would just sound stupid.

Are they going to ditch Rage's entire back catalogue if they play live? In which case what is the point of keeping the band's name as "Rage Against the Machine"..

I think the new band will work, Morello is a god, Cornell is a demi-god and Timmy is a little ga-ga. However, it just won't be as ground-breaking or revolutionary as Rage were.

So does this mean they get to change their name to Slight Irritation against the machine?

"Maiming slightly in the name of..." hm, doesn't have the same ring.

The bloke from Soundgarden, is the sort of guy that helps his mum paint her fence... Hmmm can't see him getting "down" with Rage Against the Machine... LOL... don't really like them, mates do... think its time to make fun of them and make them like the Manics.

He Ho Ha

Before:

KILLLLLLLING IN THE NAME OFFFFFF...

After:

killing in the name of, oh my nail...

Errr yep.

Goatboy saying Chris had an amazing voice jst got me thinking a stupid thought - imagine a RATM album of jazz waltzes and ballads - Horrific!

"The priest that f;[];'d you as he danced the Charleston RAAAHFDHFHHhGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH" .or maybe not ;-)

(just thought I'd share that with you)

This "new guy" is Chris Cornell.

The singer from Soundgarden.
He has an amazing voice, but is not an angry voice. It's more of a fantastic range like Robert Plant has.

I think the music will be different, because Cornell just cannot match De La Rocha for fury.

I thought that after Zack left Rage, the rest of the band were gunna go their seperate ways?? And then I thought Limp Bizkit would find a suitable replacement for Wes Borland. And the other 2 would maybe start a new band, or work on various albums with various artists.

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I think it's great they've decided to stick together, but 'trying' to replace Zack with a less aggresive vocalist who can reach every note, just won't be as effective! Chester Bennington can reach every note, but he also unleashes the power of his vocal chords and feelings in each song. This 'new guy' who I've never heard of just won't be like that (according to what you say), and I have a feeling Rage will start to fall like Limp Bizkit have.

Maybe the remaining original members should carry on searching for a top vocalist, but someone who unleashes his feelings in his voice. Then they could have the 2 frontmen together giving a strong, effective contrast. Just like Linkin Park's duo of Bennington and Mike Shinoda.

Ah, then maybe it makes more sense.
I know Cornell is in RATM as in the other 3 members.

Does that mean that little angry Zach was the driving force behind them?

Thank christ, I would have cried if Cornell tried to drop Bombtrack.