The Battle of Los Angeles (album)

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The Battle of Los Angeles
RAtM-BattleofLosAngeles.jpeg
Studio album by Rage Against the Machine
Released November 2, 1999 (1999-11-02)
Recorded September - October, 1998
Studio (see Studios)
Genre Rap metal, alternative metal, funk metal
Length 45:10
Label Epic
Producer Brendan O'Brien
Rage Against the Machine chronology
Evil Empire
(1996)		 The Battle of Los Angeles
(1999)		 Renegades
(2000)
Singles from The Battle of Los Angeles
  1. "Guerilla Radio"
    Released: October 12, 1999 (1999-10-12)
  2. "Sleep Now in the Fire"
    Released: November 4, 1999 (1999-11-04)
  3. "Testify"
    Released: June 7, 2000 (2000-06-07)
  4. "Calm Like a Bomb"
    Released: November 13, 2000 (2000-11-13)

The Battle of Los Angeles is the third studio album by American rap metal band Rage Against the Machine. It was released on November 2, 1999, over three years after their second studio album, Evil Empire. Between Evil Empire and Los Angeles, the band released a live album, titled Live & Rare. This album is Rage Against the Machine's most recent album consisting of original material. The Battle of Los Angeles was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

Concept[edit]

The album was named for the Battle of Los Angeles which took place on February 25, 1942. The Battle of Los Angeles was heavily influenced by the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. "Testify", "Sleep Now in the Fire", "Voice of the Voiceless", among other songs, include direct quotes from the novel, and mention key Orwellian terms in the lyrics.[citation needed] "Voice of the Voiceless", a song referring to Mumia Abu Jamal, contains a quotation from the writings of Mao Zedong[where?]. Another Rage-Mumia-Mao connection can be seen in Mumia's paraphrased words from Mao's "power grows out of the barrel of a gun" when Mumia gave his court testimony: "It is America who has seized political power from the Indian [Native American] race, not by God, not by Christianity, not by goodness, but by the barrel of a gun."[1]

Release and promotion[edit]

The song "Calm Like a Bomb" is featured in the credits of The Matrix Reloaded. The videos to "Sleep Now in the Fire" and "Testify" were directed by documentarian Michael Moore. Both "Testify" and "Guerrilla Radio" are also featured in the video game Rock Band 2, being on-disc and downloadable, respectively.

The album debuted at #1 on Billboard's Top 200 selling 420,000 copies its first week. That week saw a busy CD release schedule. The album denied Mariah Carey's highly anticipated album the chance to open at #1. "Guerrilla Radio" was featured in Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, albeit heavily edited on the Nintendo 64 version, and it is also heavily edited on Madden NFL 10. Both Time and Rolling Stone named it the Best Album of 1999. It was listed as #53 in SPIN Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005.

The album cover art was an original artwork by the LA Street Phantom aka Joey Krebs aka Joel Jaramillo, a well-known Los Angeles artist who has exhibited at numerous galleries in Los Angeles, New York City and throughout the United States.[2] Despite claims to the contrary, the image was not inspired by images from the 1992 street riots of LA or from images of Munich, but by the band's own music and words, and represents one in a series of images of the artist's work, which can also be seen on various street murals in Los Angeles.[citation needed]

Saul Williams sampled "Born of a Broken Man" for his song "Om Nia Merican", which appeared on his 2001 album Amethyst Rock Star.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars [3]
Entertainment Weekly A [4]
NME 7/10 [5]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars [6]
Spin 10/10 [7]
Vibe favorable [8]
Yahoo! Music favorable [9]
Rock Hard (de) 8.5/10[10]

In 2003, The Battle of Los Angeles was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2005, the album was ranked number 369 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[11]

Awards[edit]

Track listing[edit]

All lyrics written by Zack de la Rocha, all music composed by Rage Against the Machine.

No. Title Length
1. "Testify"   3:30
2. "Guerrilla Radio"   3:26
3. "Calm Like a Bomb"   4:58
4. "Mic Check"   3:33
5. "Sleep Now in the Fire"   3:25
6. "Born of a Broken Man"   4:40
7. "Born as Ghosts"   3:22
8. "Maria"   3:48
9. "Voice of the Voiceless"   2:31
10. "New Millennium Homes"   3:44
11. "Ashes in the Fall"   4:37
12. "War Within a Breath"   3:36
Total length:
 45:10
Bonus promo CD/tape

In the US, some retail stores gave a free promo CD to those who pre-ordered the CD. It contained 2 tracks: "Clear the Lane" and "Hadda Be Playing on the Juke Box". In Australia certain chains gave a promo tape to those who pre-ordered titled "New... Live... Rare" which featured "Calm Like a Bomb" and the aforementioned all on one side and repeating on side B. All versions are the same as on their proper CD releases.

Personnel[edit]

Band
Technical
  • Brendan O'Brien – production, mixing
  • Rage Against the Machine – co-production
  • Nick DiDia – engineering, recording
  • Russ Fowler – additional engineering
  • Sugar D – additional engineering
  • German Villacorta – assistant engineering (at A&M Studios)
  • Roger Sommers – assistant engineering (at Royaltone Studios)
  • Kevin Lively – assistant engineering (at Silent Sound Studios)
  • Ryan Williams – engineering (at Southern Tracks)
  • Karl Egsieker – assistant engineering (at Southern Tracks)
  • Monique Mitzrahl – assistant engineering (at Sunset Sound)
  • Kevin Dean – assistant engineering (at Sunset Sound)
  • Michael Parnin – assistant engineering (at Westlake Audio)
  • "Atom" – assistant engineering (at Westlake Audio)
  • Stephen Marcussen – mastering
  • Andrew Garver – digital editing
  • Cheryl Mondello – production coordination
  • Erin Haley – production coordination
Artwork and design
  • Rage Against the Machine – art direction
  • Aimee Macauley – art direction
  • Joey Krebs – artwork
  • Danny Clinch – photography
  • Matt DeMello (eye cue); photography
  • Steven Tirona – additional photography
Studios
  • A&M Studios, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
  • Royaltone Studios, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
  • Silent Sound Studios, Atlanta, GA – recording, mixing
  • Southern Tracks, Atlanta, GA – recording, mixing
  • Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
  • Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA – recording, mixing
  • A&M Mastering Studios, Los Angeles, CA – mastering

Charts[edit]

Certifications[edit]

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[34] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[35] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[38] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References[edit]

  1. ^ "From Death Row, Mumia Abu-Jamal". 
  2. ^ "The Street Phantom - Artist's Statement at Graffiti Verite.com". Graffitiverite.com. Retrieved 2010-11-15. 
  3. ^ Bush, John. The Battle of Los Angeles at AllMusic
  4. ^ "Music Review: The Battle Of Los Angeles, by Rage Against the Machine". Entertainment Weekly. November 1, 1999. 
  5. ^ NME Album Reviews - The Battle Of Los Angeles - NME.COM
  6. ^ The Battle Of Los Angeles | Album Reviews | Rolling Stone
  7. ^ SPIN - Google Boeken
  8. ^ Vibe - Google Boeken
  9. ^ http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12035715
  10. ^ Rensen, Michael. "Rock Hard review". issue 151. Retrieved 25 May 2013. 
  11. ^ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 61. ISBN 3-89880-517-4. 
  12. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Australiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  13. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles" (in German). Austriancharts.at. Hung Medien.
  14. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  15. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  16. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Rage Against the Machine.
  17. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien.
  18. ^ "Rage Against the Machine: The Battle of Los Angeles" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  19. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Lescharts.com. Hung Medien.
  20. ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  21. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien.
  22. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien.
  24. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Swisscharts.com. Hung Medien.
  25. ^ a b c "Rage Against the Machine | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "UK_charts" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "UK_charts" defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  26. ^ "19991107 Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40 | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  27. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Rage Against the Machine.
  28. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard Top Catalog Albums for Rage Against the Machine.
  29. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Guerrilla Radio". VG-lista.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Rage Against the Machine – Guerrilla Radio". Singles Top 60.
  31. ^ a b c "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Rage Against the Machine.
  32. ^ "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Rage Against the Machine.
  33. ^ a b c "Rage Against the Machine – Chart history" Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs for Rage Against the Machine.
  34. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1999 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 
  35. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Music Canada. 
  36. ^ "New Zealand album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. 
  37. ^ "British album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". British Phonographic Industry.  Enter The Battle of Los Angeles in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  38. ^ "American album certifications – Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles". Recording Industry Association of America.  If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Supernatural by Santana		 Billboard 200 number-one album
November 20-26, 1999		 Succeeded by
Breathe by Faith Hill
Rage Against the Machine
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
Demo albums
Video
Singles
Other songs
Tours
Related acts
Related articles
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