I’ve thought this for quite a while. During the grunge era the music world filled with copycats. During the numetal era the world filled with numetal acts etc…
RATM had a very unique sound mainly due to Morellos creative guitar antics thats for sure but I always thought that Zack De Larochas lyrical content really made them stand out amount the artists of the time, even thru today for that matter. Whether you agreed with the hardcore antigovernment stance and Viva La Revolution! positions of ZDL you can’t deny that, compared to just about any other popular musical act of the time (and even now) the lyrics were intelligent and were very politically charged. Besides Renegades I don’t think they had any songs that could be interpreted as “fun”
I’ve wondered for quite some time why, even at their peak, there were ZERO copycats in popular music (defined as Mtv, radio etc…). These guys were HUGE and sold massive numbers of albums and I have no doubt that once they formally get back together and put out another album proper it will be huge as well since there is nothing quite like it on the radio anywhere.
It seems that typically when a sound gains traction record companies grind out as many style copy cats as they can to capitalize on the success of the sound. That didn’t happen with RATM. Why is that?
Wow - way to threadshit. Let’s just say I disagree. RAtM is one of the few bands that cast a long shadow coming out of those crap nu metal years. I have to get to a meeting and can’t type long, but their talent, songs and innovative guitar sounds even better today.
Clawfinger would be the one that come to mind, although they’re not exactly RATM copyists - they formed earlier, although their debut album came out later.
I think the main reason there aren’t more bands like this is that rap-metal doesn’t really work at the best of times, and that there are better genres of music for political commentary than metal.
I would say Linkin Park is the closest band the OP is looking for. They started out in the late 90s (along with Korn, Limp Bizkit, Incubus, Godsmack, Alien Ant Farm, P.O.D., System of a Down) as just another nu-metal decendent of RATM/Faith No More/RHCP/Tool. But unlike most of those other bands, they are still around. And their last CDs, Minutes to Midnight and A Thousand Suns have a bit more political overtones.
Looking forward to this. Personally I think that their debut album is a phenomal collection songs, that grips you from the moment the drums kick in in Bombtrack and doesn’t let go until his last scream in Freedom. But the other albums only intermittently reached the same level of greatness.
I think it takes too much work to be like RATM. Not only do you have to have an amazing guitar player but also a frontman who can rap and scream, and at the same time does a lot of studying about world politics. I’m already exhausted!
I always liked Rage. The mix of musical styles, lyrics etc. always worked for me. Linkin Park isn’t a fraction of RATM. Linkin Park’s songs all sound the same to me.
This comes closest to what I was thinking. Take Zach De La Rocha out and you’ve got one of the most quirkiest and most unusual three piece bands out there, put him and his political screamings in and you’ve got someting nearly inimitable. When I was playing in a band we sometimes made a semi-conscious effort at ripping of…ah, being inspired by Rage Against the Machine, which resulted in some good songs but nothing that really sounds like them at all. Love 'em or hate 'em, they’ve got an original sound.
I have to agree. The OP wasn’t posted as an obvious appreciation thread like the Talking Heads thread elsewhere on the front page. Rather he asked why such a popular band did not have more imitators. elfkin’s reply was a bit dismissive, but weakly on point.
Not that I agree at all. RATM was never really my cuppa, but they were undeniably talented from where I sat. But there is a difference between a weak response or a wrong one ( IMHO ) and a threadshit.
Have to respectfully disagree there. I expected less than nothing when De La Rocha left, but Audioslave put out some surprisingly damn good albums with some surprisingly damn good songs. Cornell, Morello, and the whole gang have done all right by themselves.
) and a threadshit.