“Guerilla Radio” by Rage Against the Machine

"Guerilla Radio" was the opening shot from The Battle of Los Angeles, Rage Against the Machine's third album, released in 1999, and it hits like a battering ram. Tim Commerford, Tom Morello, Zack de la Rocha and Brad Wilk share the music credit, de la Rocha wrote the words, and Brendan O'Brien is credited as producer.

This is rap metal with no fat on it. The riff lurches and stomps, the rhythm section locks into a groove as heavy as a riot shield, and the lyric comes out in a hail of slogans, every line pitched at the back of the crowd. It's a band that sounds furious and tight at once, which was always the trick.

It gave them the only Hot 100 entry of their career, at number 69, and it won them the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. "Sleep Now in the Fire" followed it as the next single.

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