25.04.21 | Alex Sievers Released on April 16th, 1996, ‘Evil Empire’ was the second piece in a three-act political rock puzzle for Rage Against The Machine. It’s a great album, but imperfect: the over-reliance on repetition for its musical impact, to allow the message of any given song to cut through properly, does make matters extremely routine. In a world of the almighty algorithms amplifying everything, where once something does well its presence spreads like an inescapable tendril, it’s no surprise ‘Bulls On Parade’ is still so overbearingly omnipresent today. (Every second dollar-store metalcore band covering it didn’t help.) With ‘Evil Empire’ recently reaching the quarter-of-a-century milestone, looking back, it’s not hard to see why certain portions of this LP are overlooked. Yet it’s also clear to see why this fired-up second record (and the band’s) legacy remains steadfast. This was no “sophomore-slump,” just the next step in an illustrious career.