The 4-piece consisted of (and still does) vocalist Zack de la Rocha (b. 1970), guitarist Tom Morello (b. 1964), bassist Timmy C (b. Tim Commerford) and drummer Brad Wilk (b. 1968).
After a series of gigs starting with a friend's living room in 1991, the band took their message wholesale in 1992 with their self titled debut. Highlighting the evils of the American Government, they also created anthems for the disaffected youth, especially with Killing in the Name, which also led to Bruno Brooks getting fired from his Radio 1 job in 1993 by playing it on the Top 40 rundown without hearing it beoforehand. The immortal refrain of "Fuck you I won't do what you tell me" at the track's conclusion had been burned into the subconscious of every disaffected teenager and remained there ever since.
Other releases from the album included Bullet in the Head and Bombtrack, which remain firm favorites today alongside unreleased cuts such as Know Your Enemy (featuring Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan), as well as Freedom, complete with a video that made Leonard Peltier an MTV cause celebre. Trips on Lollapalooza, including their obscure protest at one show turning up naked with tape over their mouths to protest against censorship for the full 20 minutes their set was allocated, and various European festivals followed.
Numerous causes were highlighted in the interim. As well as the aforemeantioned Peltier, Mumia Abu-Jamal and the Zapatista movement, as well as other causes too numerous to meantion. What was missing, however, was some more material.
None followed until 1996 when their follow-up, Evil Empire, was released. This time it was Tim Bob on bass, and the message now featured the plight of the Zapatistas on the track People of the Sun, which had a video featuring all the crimes of the US Government flashing onscreen in rapid fire, so you better get familiar with the pause button. The other track, Bulls on Parade, got Radio 1 worried for some strange reason. Censorship and the ignorance of the upper classes also got highlighted along the way.
And again, they disappeared afterwards for another long hiatus, although this time there were rumors that the band had split. Also people started to think that sloganeering was all they were good for, following their 'Rage Against Sweatshops' billboard campaign against Gap, as well as organising Free Mumia concerts.
Not a chance, when 1999 saw The Battle of Los Angeles take hold, this time with YTimK on bass (topical name changes seem to be a big thing), and this time the sound wasn't just about Zack's lyrics and Morello's guitar gymnastics, with the bass and drums invited along to complete the sound, as shown with tracks such as Testify, Calm Like A Bomb and Mic Check, as well as first single Gurilla Radio. Again there were a multitude of issues open for inspection, as well as hiring Michael Moore to direct the video for Sleep Now in the Fire, with the band and fans gatecrashing the World Trade Centre at the time, seeing that they both represent those at the receiving end of injustice.
August 2000 saw them play a free gig across the street from the Democrat Convention, and upstaging them to such a point that everyone forgot there was a conference. Tim also invaded the stage at the MTV Awards as Fred Durst was on stage (it happened a lot that night), but in October, Zack decided that persuing his solo project would be full time, so quit.
After months of rumors of who the new vocalist would be (rumors included Cypress Hill's B-Real and, quite unexpectedly, Eddie Vedder), before their new vocalist was announced in late 2001 - former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell (b.1964), which led to the recording of an album. However, he left in early 2002, shortly after they were booked for US Ozzfest dates, later rejoining the band, as the moniker changed once more, to Audioslave, in September.
Official Site/ RATM.net/ Jim's RATM Page
Released in Japan under the title Biohazard, Capcom had invented a whole new genre in computer gaminig-Survival Horror. Taking elements from action games and RPGs, complete with a cinematic style and deeply unsettling atmosphere, the first Resident Evil sold by the shed load whenever and wherever it was released-the UK release wasn't until 1997. It still has healtyh sales as part of the Platinum gaming range.
The basic plot was that a police team (S.T.A.R.S) had got trapped in a mansion in the woods outside of the fictitious Racoon City when looking for signs of the previous team sent in, who had lost contact. If the eerie (if grainy, and censored outside Japan) FMV intro sequence wasn't enough, within 2 minutes of starting the game you were faced with one of the key features of the game: a zombie, happily munching away at the corpse of one of the other team, before realising your presence. Again this was toned down between transfers-the Japanese have all the fun. And decapitated heads with signs of being munched on, team members having their throats ripped out by dogs...
The game featured 2 main characters-Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine (with help from Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers, with Brad Vickers and Albert Wesker along for the ride, and a few of the other team-prior to a messy exit, if not achieved already). Whichever one the player chose altered the gaming experience somewhat, adding to the replay value. The main hook, however, wasn't the graphic violence (the game being rated a '15'), or the gameplay, it was a combination of the atmosphere-helped by an eerie soundtrack-and the unfolding storyline, yet another Survival Horror feature. So combine Night of the Living Dead, a few film noir and a typical RPG, with the acting values of a 'B' movie (intentional or not), and the genre was kickstarted. The game was also ripped off in the arcades for House of the Dead, a lightgun version by Sega.
Of course, sequels were wanted. Resident Evil: The Director's Cut followed up during the iterim, featuring extra zombies, dogs jumping through windows and secret options, but fans wanted more. And more they got in 1998 when Resident Evil 2 hit the stores. This time the action shifted to Racoon City itself, having been overrun by zombies a few months after the events of the original RE, following Umbrella Corp's evil doings going too far. Leon Kennedy (a rookie cop) and Claire Redfield (Chris' sister) happened to arrive in town at this point, and soon realised that it had turned into Hell on Earth.
Extra weapons, far more zombies, a glut of hidden options and sub-games, and the game being split over 2 disks to get the full story made this the fastest selling game of all time (until Zelda: Ocarina of Time cropped up on the N64), and again the story was key-helped by the cinematic presentation and soundtrack. The 2 disks gave each character their own storyline and alternative scenario, as well as replay value. And for gorehounds, most of the characters still alive that you met were dispatched within 5 minutes or so in some style-especially the cop that zombifies in front of you. Since you don't have time to aim with the shotgun, you have to blow him in half, and the top half still chomps on your ankles! On the other hand, Ada Wong and Sherry Birkin are there for the long-haul. Or longer than usual haul, depending on your nihilism.
Gorehounds also relished the memory upgrade. Instead of a maximum of 2 enemies per room as previously, it was possible to have 6 or more in the same place, to add to the tension and difficulty, so the end result was to either evade, or to jump in with a shotgun and make the floor rather messy. Although it may seem fun, the former is well advised. At least until you get stuck in a confined space with plentiful ammo...
Gamers also got the chance to view Raccoon for the first time, albeit restricted slightly to the streets, the Police Department, the sewers, a vacant factory, and the hidden Umbrella labs, rather than a full tour. But at least you got the general idea of the place, and the chaos that engulfed the place the day before (according to the timeline), also explaining the lean number of people still living.
After this, there was Res Evil overload. Comic books emerged, George Romero (ironically enough) was drafted in to direct the movie (since fired and backburnered respectivly), but only one thing mattered, the third installment.
At the same time, the first RE was adapted for the GameBoy, Code Veronica was being developed for the Dreamcast (featuring Claire from RE2) and RE2 hitting the doomed N64, as well as the Dreamcast at a later date.
In the meantime, Capcom produced Dino Crisis, a remix or Res Evil with the enemies being enlisted from Jurassic Park, and Konami unleashed the disturbing Silent Hill (again censored outside Japan) as competition. Sega again provided the arcade light gun rip off-House of the Dead 2 for their tuppence worth-although there was an official RE lightgun game in production, destined for the Playstation soon. There was also the Men In Black license, but I wont go into that.
But in early 2K, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (aka Biohazard: The Last Escape) hit the shelves. But instead of being the expected assault on Umbrella HQ, it was back to Racoon City, 24 hours before Leon and Claire's arrival and subsequent bid to survive the horror. This time it was Jill Valentine's turn to escape the city, although this had a new set of problems-mostly being the aforemeantioned Nemesis.
Traversing the streets of Racoon also leads Jill to meet up with Brad Vickers (who rescued the survivors at the end of the first installment-also a hidden zombie in the second), who gets attacked by a zombie and dispatched by Nemesis early on, explaining his RE2 cameo which caused much debate. The game also takes you back to the RPD of part 2, even seeing the cop prior to his zombification, as well as being able to take in the sights of Raccoon, albeit for a brief spell before remembering you're the next snack in the eyes of the population. With Nemesis after any S.T.A.R.S officer still alive, it seems quite handy that Jill runs into Carlos Oliviera and his Umbrella Rescue team-mates. But since every other person seen running away is messily dispatched within seconds, you have to wonder their longevity, as well as your own.
The storyine is as strong as ever, but the darkness of the game is unsurpassed. Also added is the live selection mode, first seen in Dino Crisis, where players have the opportunity to choose which path to go down-risk getting severely mutilated by Nemisis or run away and hide hoping he goes away, in other words. Enemies can also chase you up and down stairs and, to make matters worse, Nemesis can go between rooms. And did I meantion he also packs a rocket launcher in case you get too good at running away? Handy there is also the ability to turn on your heels to help in the common activity of getting the Hell outta there, as well as barge away enemies. A night out in Brixton suddenly seems to be like a stroll in the park in comparison.
And if that wasn't enough for your zombie-blasting tendencies, the previously hinted Resident Evil: Survivor-the first person lightgun blaster-came out only a month later. Sound familiar? Bring on the next installment on Playstation 2!!!
