The Battle Of Los Angeles

The Battle Of Los Angeles is the third studio album by rap-metal band Rage Against The Machine. It was released in 1999 and is, as of now, the latest original album Rage Against The Machine has made. It had three successful singles, "Guerilla Radio", "Sleep Now In The Fire", and "Testify". Track three, "Calm Like A Bomb" was intended to be the fourth single, but was not released, only being played on the radio if the DJ had a copy of the album. The Battle Of Los Angeles was nominated for the Grammy's 1999 "Best Rock Album" award, but lost to There Is Nothing Left To Loose by Foo Fighters.

Artwork
The cover art shows grafitti of a person rasing his fist with "The Battle Of Los Angeles" written in the middle. Most people think this is a reference to riots that Happended in 1992, however the band said that the reason why they made the cover looked like this is because this is how they felt the music on the album sounded like. Photos in the booklet includes concret walls and barbed-wire fences. In the back of the booklet, there is a list of different websites for the listener to go to.

Music and Lyrics
Like all the other albums by the band, the music is rap-metal and the lyrics are political. The album's lyrical content was influenced by the book Nighteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, specifically tracks such as "Testify", "Sleep Now In The Fire", and "Voice of the Voiceless". Alot of the songs were also influenced and made during the Mumia Abu-Jamal concert, such as "Mic Check" or "Born As Ghosts". Tracks such as "Maria" or "Born Of A Broken Man" tell stories. "Maria" tells the story of a young woman who moves to a new country, only to die due to who she is, and "Born Of A Broken Man" tells the life of a homeless man.

Track listing

 * 1) Testify
 * 2) Guerilla Radio
 * 3) Calm Like A Bomb
 * 4) Mic Check
 * 5) Sleep Now In The Fire
 * 6) Born Of A Broken Man
 * 7) Born As Ghosts
 * 8) Maria
 * 9) Voice Of The Voiceless
 * 10) New Millennium Homes
 * 11) Ashes In The Fall
 * 12) War Withen A Breath
 * 13) No Shelter (Australian/Japanese Bonus Track)

Bonus Disc/Bonus Tape: "New...Live...Rare"
Back when the album was being released, people in the US who pre-ordered the album got a bonus CD which includes the following: In some Australian stores, if you were to pre-order Tha album, you were to get a cassette tape titled "New...Live...Rare". It contains:
 * 1) Clear The Lane
 * 2) Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox

Side A
 * 1) Calm Like A Bomb (Live)

Side B
 * 1) Clear The Lane
 * 2) Hadda Be Playing On The Jukebox

All tracks on Side B are the same as the tracks from the US Bonus disc.

Personal

 * Zach De La Rocha - Vocals
 * Tim Commerford - Bass (Credited as Y.tim.K or Tim.Com)
 * Brad Wilk - Drums
 * Tom Morello - Guitars