I know a lot of baby boomer hippie types that think they changed the world back in “The Summer Of Love”, but not all that much if you really look into history. Not the way punk rock, metal, and later Hip-Hop was able to galvanize entire generations to get off their asses and think for themselves. Rage Against The Machine waved the flag hardcore across all these styles in the 1990s. Now in 2016 we have Prophets of Rage. It is a great thing that ¾ of RATM are joined by Hip-Hop legends like Chuck D of Public Enemy and B-Real of Cypress Hill, along with DJ Lord came together. Will it work beyond the present tour? The Party’s Over EP (Prophets Of Rage) goes along way to answering that.

Make no mistake: Zack De La Rocha has such a unique voice and flow, he is tough to replace. But if you must have RATM fronted by someone else, why not have two absolute legendary voices in the rap game? Chuck D is synonymous with political activism and great rhymes. B-Real has never been known as a fist in the air type, but the huge influence of Cypress Hill on rap rock and nu-metal is also undeniable. These are great building blocks along with DJ Lord in the mix too.

Kicking off the EP with the updated PE song ‘Prophets of Rage’, it works in every sense. Chuck and B-Real rap together fluidly and support each other with their hi-lo timbres. The real payoff of the EP is the original track ‘The Party’s Over’. It has all the hallmarks of late era RATM and really could easily have been made years ago, sounding right at home on Battle Of Los Angeles.

The rest of the EP has live recordings from the shows the band has done together, including the Republican National Convention. ‘Killing In The Name ‘ is the quintessential RATM song, so it’s inclusion is almost mandatory. It sounds pretty tight, with B-Real’s softer dynamics copping the feel of the original. PE joint ‘Shut Em Down’ is reimagined a little bit with clever guitar work and riffs galore from Tom Morello, who of course shines. Closing with ‘No Sleep Til Cleveland’, this track makes up some of POR’s live medley feel, with nods to Beastie Boys, and PE’s ‘Fight The Power’, and more.

In a nutshell, I do miss Zack’s voice a bit, but the fierceness this group brings is something sorely missing in music right now. I’d love to hear an entire album of new material, with even more time to for them to gel.

Buy the album here: https://amzn.to/3EvkYxO

7.0 / 10

KEITH CHACHKES