Tom Morello

The Atlas Underground

RATM guitarist kicks it with a celebrity cast. We often see announcements of new albums with a stellar lineup of guests, and imagine a dizzying multiplication of talents. Which sounds great in theory. But it rarely turns out that way.

And so it proves with the ex-Rage Against The Machine guitarist Morello’s collaborathon. It works best when it doesn’t try too hard to reinvent the dancerock wheel. On Rabbit’s Revenge, Big Boi and Killer Mike ride in on a Kashmir-like riff to condemn police brutality, then Vic Mensa sets fire to We Don’t Believe You, despite claiming ‘Nine-eleven was a hoax, it was never hijacked’, alongside startling laser-fire guitar from the main man. Then Vigilante Nocturno’s stomping, immediate groove hits harder than the style-splicing experiments elsewhere; an example of the latter is the RZA/ GZA-assisted Lead Poisoning, an album-closing anthem reduced to a half-baked rap-rock plod.

Pick and mix your own highlights, but as a one-sitting listen expect a bumpy ride.