Prophets of Rage - "Prophets of Rage"

Oh boy.  Here we go boys and girls.  Let me just say, I've been dreading talking about this.  Prophets of Rage, on paper, should be fantastic.  Consisting of legendary artists like Chuck D, Tom Morello and B Real, there's not a reason why Prophets of Rage shouldn't work. But up until this point, Prophets of Rage has been a chore to listen to.  Their 2016 EP "The Party's Over" is a strange one, to say the least.  "Prophets of Rage" is an alright single, but everything else here went south real quick.  "The Party's Over" is just so bland, and I don't even want to think about just how awkward the live performances were on here.  But I continued to try my hardest to stay optimistic on the future of Prophets of Rage.  However, when they release awkward singles almost constantly, it's really hard to take them seriously.  Prophets of Rage here have finally released their debut, and we're gonna have to talk about this thing.

This album starts out with “Radical Eyes”, and we begin with some pretty decent Tom Morello driven funk which isn’t the worst thing int he world.  But then we’re treated to an exhausted and winded sounding Chuck D., which may be the most depressing thing I’ve heard this year (And I sat through the new Mount Eerie album).  Ironically, B. Real really doesn’t sound too bad here, and I’ve always been incredibly critical of his very nasally voice.  Here, he actually sounds a little more aggressive which certainly makes me a little happier.  On the other hand, overall, I can’t forgive this track.  There are moments that sort of sound like coherent thoughts, but at the end of the day, this is just a big ego trip.  Tom’s guitar solo doesn’t come off cool or interesting, and to be honest I would just sort of rather hear him in funk mode than test out new tricks.  And the chemistry between B. Real and Chuck D. is just laughable at points.  Not a good intro boys.  Then we have “Unfuck the World”, which may be the dumbest song title I’ve heard all year. Now, I will give this track some credit, it certainly is heavier which is a plus.  But that really doesn’t make it any better.  This album has teeth, as a matter of fact, it’s just about all teeth.  But it’s becoming apparent very quickly that there is no purpose here but to rile people up a bit.  Rage Against the Machine always had a purpose.  And you better believe Public Enemy always had a purpose.  On the other hand, this just seems heartless.  And while the chorus on this one certainly does make me move a little, these verses have me ticked off for all the wrong reasons.  As a track, “Unfuck The World” is topsy-turvy.  Chuck D here is practically playing Hype Man for B. Real, which is a damn near sin.  This track is nothing but anger, which 15 years ago would have been cool.  But without purpose or chemistry, this comes off very messy.   Now, to be perfectly honest, there are moments of “Legalize Me” that I do enjoy a little.  I enjoy Tom’s stripped down intro and more straightforward playing on these verses.  Instrumentally, all around this is exactly where I want to hear Prophets of Rage.  But at its core, I had a feeling that I would expect a track like this.  In an album filled with vicious political statements, B. Real just HAD to slip in a track about legalizing Marijuana.  Now, it actually might just be the catchiest tune here.  But as far as statements go, I feel lied to by Prophets of Rage.  Not to mention, Chuck sounds absolutely awful on this track.  Of the 12 tracks here, for me, this is a SLIGHT stand out.  But does that really mean much?  There are some moments on “Living On The 110” that I enjoy for the most part too.  Tom’s more bluesy riff on this one is certainly an improvement, it’s moments like this that show the real greatness here.  Not to mention, the toned down the anger of this one is greatly welcomed.  Chuck doesn’t sound too hot still but at least B. Real sounds coherent for the most part.  Now, people are going to say this track is the least fierce of the album.  But honestly, that’s what I don’t mind about it.  This one easily contains some of the more justifiably angry statements of the entire album.  It’s presented pretty well too.  But even at their “best”, Prophets of Rage still lack the real chemistry I wanted to hear.

    This thing just keeps getting worse as this album rolls on.  I don’t even want to talk about “The Counteroffensive”, so I’ll keep it brief.  This is literally 40 seconds of my life I’m never going to get back.  Tom’s playing is obnoxious, and B. Real And Chuck D’s Ad-Libs are just annoying.  By the time we get to “Hail To The Chief”, you have to give Prophets of Rage SOME credit, because they certainly have the intensity down.  And hell, if that does something for you, you’ll love this.  But for me, it’s going to take a whole lot more than muscular riffs and big choruses in 2017 to impress me.  Chuck does sound a little more energetic on his verse, as does B. Real.  But in a weird way, something just keeps bugging me.  Is it just me, or does every one of these tracks sound like the guys in the band are just being featured on one another songs?  Meaning, not once do Prophets of Rage here sound like a complete unit.  They sound like 4 or 5 guys who got pissed off and wrote things because they felt like it.  By the end of “Hail To The Chief”, it’s literally falling apart.  The instrumentals are messy, the verses are just alright, and nothing sticks.   And just from the intro to “Take Me Higher” I can tell this one is going to very tough to listen to.  The riff on this one is completely meatless.  As a matter of fact, this whole instrumental has almost nothing to it.  The paranoia on this one seems to be a little overwhelming Chuck and B. Real.  On “Take Me Higher” they barely even sound angry, they just sound paranoid.  Then we have the chorus which I’m still trying to forget.  They literally just soil the chorus of LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out” and Sly & The Family Stone’s “I Want To Take You Higher”.  One every level, this track is unforgivable.  Then we have “Strength In Numbers”, which I do have to say I enjoy the instrumental a little bit more.  But the verses on this one make me instantly fall right back to sleep.  Tom’s riff here may be his most obnoxious that I’ve ever heard from him.  B. Real’s verse is far from as aggressive as some of his earlier ones.  Literally, there is not a single truly original moment here.  This is literally just a rehashing of every other overly agitated statement we’ve heard here, and I’m not impressed.
    We’re far from out of the woods yet people.  On “Fired A Shot”, it’s become apparent to me that Tom’s guitar playing keeps going back and forth between “Overly Muscular” and “Completely Toothless”.  On this one, it’s completely toothless.  To be honest, I actually welcome Tim Cummerford’s very funky bass playing taking more of a front seat here.  But between these verses and the chorus which I could have written in my sleep, this one proves that Prophets of Rage have given up.  You can’t argue that this track sounds like it was thrown together in about 10 minutes, and not a single second of it is redeeming.  Then we have “Who Owns Who”, and oh boy, the Prophets have officially tried their hand at a punk jam.  I’ll give it this though, it certainly does add a little fire to Chuck and B. Real’s verses, which I can’t tell you how much was needed.  Even as far as a statement goes, this is easily one of the more thought out ones in probably 6 tracks.  Hell, this almost sounds like an actual Rage Against the Machine tune.  So yea, “Who Owns Who” really isn't bad at all, who would have thought.  Prophets of Rage though can’t hold on to this sound to save their lives though, as they prove with “Hands Up”.  This one certainly has a nice groove and all. But we’re right back to Chuck D. and B. Real trying desperately to have some sort of chemistry.  I don’t ever want to hear Chuck D. as a hype man ever, and that’s really all he is on this track.  And not shockingly, it’s not pretty.  So I’m gonna just shut up about “Hands Up” because at this rate I’m just listing all of the same damn problems over and over.  This album is fucking terrible.  But Prophets Of Rage aren’t done yet.  This album ends off with “Smashit”, and oh BOY, this just sounds like the most blatant Rage Against the Machine ripoff yet.  But it’s all done with so little heart that it doesn't end up phasing me at all or even riling me up.  This album is filled with just about all the anger in the world, but it all just ends up being passionless and directionless.


Rating: 4.4/10

Give A Listen To: “Legalize Me” (Sort of……), “Living On The 110” ( KINDA? I GUESS), “Who Owns Who”

Genre: Rap Metal / Alternative Metal /  A desperate attempt at bringing back what was so great about Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy

If You Dig This, Check Out:  Rage Against The Machine - “Evil Empire”, Public Enemy - “It Takes a Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back”, Run The Jewels - “Run The Jewels 2” (Some really well thought out rebellious Rap music).

Overall Thoughts:  This album is by far the worst album I've heard all year.  Prophets of Rage have all the anger in the world compiled into about 40 minutes.  But there's no direction, no coherent thoughts, and worst of all no chemistry.