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Cover of Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine
Cover: Evil Empire

Song · Rage Against the Machine

“Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine

From the album Evil Empire (1996)

“Bulls on Parade” by Rage Against the Machine appears on 70 radio countdowns from 36 stations between 1996 and 2026. It was first released in 1996 on the album Evil Empire. Its best result is #5 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #14 alternative song of 1996, #336 alternative song of all time and #60 of the '90s.

70countdowns
36stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1996–2026years charted

Watch

Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade (Official HD Video)

Video from YouTube (RATMVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Bulls on Parade" was the first single from Evil Empire, Rage Against the Machine's second album, in 1996, and it hits like a riot squad coming around the corner. Zack de la Rocha wrote the words, and he aims them at the American arms industry, spitting out the verses over a groove that the whole band built together: Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk share the music credit with him.

The rhythm section is a steamroller, Commerford's bass fat and menacing and Wilk hammering in the pocket, but the song belongs to Morello's solo, where he makes his guitar sound like a DJ scratching a record. Brendan O'Brien produced it with the band, Nick DiDia recorded it, and Andy Wallace mixed it hard and dry, so every chug lands like a fist on a table.

Its standing hasn't faded. In 2017 Annie Zaleski of Spin ranked it the 30th best nu metal track of all time, though at heart it's a rap-metal protest song through and through.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 5 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996 107
1996 31 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996 91
1996 14 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996 101
1996 42 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996 99
1996 8 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1996 107
1996 22 WBCN Boston, MA WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996 104
1996 7 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1996 100
1996 46 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996 100
1996 68 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996 96
1997 27 97.1 The Eagle Dallas-Fort Worth, TX KEGL The Eagle's Top 97 Songs of 1997 97

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1996 427 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 49 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 151 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 308 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 27 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 85 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 57 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 768 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 28 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 88 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 107 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 13 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2002 391 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2003 282 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2004 103 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 55 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 69 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 41 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 21 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 170 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 26 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 67 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 44 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 31 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 537 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 53 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2009 101 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 104 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 173 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2009 89 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2010 100 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2012 92 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of All-Time 102
2013 85 KBPI KBPI Top 200 Songs of All Time 200
2013 80 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 32 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 26 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2018 510 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 50 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 23 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 29 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 1731 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 61 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 16 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 44 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 14 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 211 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 225 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 17 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 252 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 174 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 118 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 46 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 462 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 735 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 80 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2025 168 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 213 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2026 396 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 774 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180
2026 199 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: Bulls On Parade.

Charting alongside it in 1996

Best songs of 1996 →
  1. 1Down311
  2. 2PepperButthole Surfers
  3. 3Where It's AtBeck
  4. 4SpiderwebsNo Doubt
  5. 5What I GotSublime
  6. 6MachineheadBush

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