Song · Rage Against the Machine
“Calm Like a Bomb” by Rage Against the Machine
From the album The Battle of Los Angeles (1999)
“Calm Like a Bomb” by Rage Against the Machine appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 2003 and 2007. It was first released in 1999 on the album The Battle of Los Angeles. Its best result is #82 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #518 alternative song of 2003.
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Video from YouTube (RATMVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
"Calm Like a Bomb" never got a video or a release of its own, but radio played it hard enough off The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine's 1999 third album, to make it one of the record's favorites. It's a showcase for Tom Morello's whammy-pedal wizardry, the sky-high squeals he has called "pterodactyl sounds", and Rolling Stone held it up as the prime example of his skill in a feature on the new guitar heroes. Tim Commerford runs his bass through a home-made overdrive and a Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah, and Zack de la Rocha's words go after social inequality in radical, violent terms, with a nod to Emiliano Zapata.
Brendan O'Brien produced and mixed. It debuted live on June 11, 1999, at Jones Beach Amphitheater in Wantagh, New York, and later rolled over the end credits of The Matrix Reloaded.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 82 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003 | 107 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 376 | KROQ | KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) | 500 |
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