Tom Morello: 'It's A Show For Fighting Fascism, For Celebrating Resistance, And Rocking Out'

Tom Morello is always looking at the present and the future. Uninterested in being any kind of nostalgia act, the highly influential guitarist manages to perform songs from his past that still serve to inform what’s coming next.

Morello was born in Harlem, New York, and raised in Libertyville, Illinois. After showing interest in music and politics in high school, he attended Harvard University and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree (as well as an Honors Graduate of Political Science) from the Committee on Degrees in Social Studies.

Following the disbandment of his previous band, Lock Up, Morello’s meeting with singer and rapper Zack de la Rocha turned out to be life-changing.

Together, the pair formed Rage Against The Machine and led one of the most successful metal acts of the ‘90s. As a guitarist, Morello is recognised for his distinctive playing style, which is characterised by tapping and utilising effects.

Of course, fans who have followed Morello’s career (and social media profiles) also know him for his left-wing, socialist political views. As recently as last November, Morello took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to address listeners who didn’t take in the band’s clear politics.

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

“Never ceases to amaze me how many folks who’ve heard RATM are in Paul Ryan mode, having literally ZERO understanding of anything that band was about and even less understanding where any of us might stand on contemporary issues,” Morello wrote.

He continued, “Recently was talking to a couple at a restaurant who were big fans of ‘Killing In The Name.’ The nice lady said, ‘I love that song. It helped me rage against my parents and later against the jab!’ I said, ‘Ma’am, that song is about racist cops who often behave like the Ku Klux Klan in service of historical white supremacy and are boot licking lackeys and thugs of the racist capitalist ruling class.’ She sat there chewing and blinking, chewing and blinking.”

Morello is steadfast in his views. So much so that on some days when you’re scrolling on social media, you’ll see him answer another listener who didn’t take in anything Rage Against The Machine represents.

Like shooting fish in a barrel: pic.twitter.com/hxvZ6GgoH5
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) June 6, 2020

Scott!! What music of mine were you a fan of that DIDN’T contain “political BS”? I need to know so I can delete it from the catalog. https://t.co/AMpmjx6540
— Tom Morello (@tmorello) June 9, 2020

Catching up with The Music ahead of his Bluesfest performances and sideshows this month, Morello admits he should “never, ever” engage with anyone on X, but the misunderstandings come with the territory of the band being so big.

He explains, “First of all, I should never, ever engage with anyone on that platform. Those are moments of weakness [laughs]. Here’s the thing… the power of a band like that is that it casts a wide net, do you know what I mean? Like, it’s not a Noam Chomsky lecture. If Noam Chomsky lectures somewhere, the people in that room are going to have an expectation, and they’ve come for a particular thing.

“With Rage Against The Machine, it’s a great fucking rock and roll band that is going to people who like great rock and roll. People are going to be drawn to it across the political spectrum. Some of them will [get it] right from the jump. Others will pay no attention to any of the lyrical underpinnings and just go along with the music. Others will be turned on to a set of ideas that they were not exposed to before in music that they previously liked.

“And then there’s that precious subsection that completely misinterprets what everything is about. That’s the one where you really gotta grit your teeth, but they’re all welcome. I don’t think you should be able to box people out of enjoying your music. However, I do reserve the right to set them straight from time to time [laughs].”

In addition to Rage Against The Machine, Morello was in Audioslave—the supergroup he and his Rage bandmates Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford formed with Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell—and Prophets Of Rage (starring Morello, Wilk, Commerford, Public Enemy’s DJ Lord and Chuck D, and Cypress Hill’s B-Real), a touring musician for Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band, and experimented with folk solo stylings as The Nightwatchman.

You know the songs: Killing In The Name. Bombtrack. Bulls On Parade. Guerilla Radio. Like A Stone. Cochise. Sleep Now In The Fire. One Man Revolution. Be Yourself. Take The Power Back. It’s a long list of incredible work and experiences. But last year, Morello decided to do something new and start work on his first-ever solo rock album.

If you’ve followed Morello’s career, you might be thinking, “What do you mean, his first solo album?”

Well, The Nightwatchman is his folk-inspired outlet, and his The Atlas Underground series was packed with collaborators, including Bring Me The Horizon, IDLES, Manchester Orchestra, Steve Aoki, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath, Eddie Vedder, and stacks more, with some of the songs being covers. Other side projects have seen Morello collaborate with Måneskin, BABYMETAL, grandson, Stray Kids, Sheryl Crow, and Def Leppard.

It's fair to say that Morello has been extremely busy, and it’s been a long time since his voice—devoid of outside influences—was in the spotlight. That’s where Soldier In The Army Of Love comes in.

Sharing the limelight with his teenage son, Roman, the pair don’t just complement each other on the single, but Morello’s hip-hop-inspired rock music simultaneously feels fresh and like a tribute to his entire musical history. Meanwhile, the vocals he teased with Springsteen culminate in his spitting bars that fight for justice and provide healing: his music’s greatest superpowers.

Soldier In The Army Of Love is just the first taste of what’s to come on Morello’s upcoming solo record. He teases of what’s to come: “We might bust out another song on this tour, but this is going to be the first Tom Morello solo rock album.

“I’ve made lots of rock albums, and I’ve made lots of solo records. But this is the time where I’m really going to apply myself and all of my Morellian riffs, you know—the kind of riffs that were the meat and potatoes of Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave but matched with The Nightwatchman stuff, too.

“So, it’ll be somewhere between Rage riffs and Springsteen’s Darkness On The Edge Of Town. Those are kind of like the two goalposts there, and I’m going to steal a lot more of Roman’s riffs for this record, too [laughs]. Let me just tell you that I’m not afraid of that.”

Unfortunately, Roman won’t make it Down Under with his dad on this run as he’ll be at school, but Morello says his son’s work will be “represented.”

He tells, “Unfortunately, Roman will not be in Australia, as he has school then, but his work will be represented. We’ve done a couple of songs together, including the theme song for the Venom movie [One Last Dance] and another song as well. But yeah, it’s been great writing with him.

“The craziest thing about him is not that he’s 13, and he’s so good, and he’s able to write these great riffs, play solos and tour the world with me. The crazy thing is that I’m used to it now. Yeah, he’s just like another dude in the band, except that if we have disagreements, I can send him to his room [laughs].”

Musical instruments have always been in the Morello household. But for a long time, his two sons—Roman and Rhoads—had no interest in picking up a guitar. During lockdown, though, Roman changed his mind.

“They, frankly, had very little idea of what I did for a living,” Morello chuckles. “I never played Rage Against The Machine for them, etc. And then, during lockdown—Roman’s a fan of classic rock, and in the midst of Zoom school and playing Fortnite with his friends, I said, ‘Hey, can you give me five minutes, and I’ll teach you the first three notes of Stairway To Heaven?’ And he said, ‘I’ll give you four.’”

Morello’s reaction? He took those four minutes and taught his son the first three notes. The following day, he showed Roman the next few notes.

“And then, on the third day, he asked me if he could keep going. That’s building on the small successes and making it really fun. I got a guitar when I was 13 years old. I took two guitar lessons, and it made me never want to play again,” Morello continues.

“I didn’t touch the guitar for four years because it was no fun. It felt like such a steep slope to be able to do anything I might ever want to do rather than, like, ‘Let’s start by learning your favourite song.’ And then, he [Roman] was doing improvisational soloing before he knew the name of any chords. I taught it so it would be fun, like, we’re going to do the fun stuff first, and that makes you want to come back to do it more.”

Soldier In The Name Of Love and Morello’s unreleased new music is indicative of the last couple of years, which have seen him further embrace the career of a solo artist. He’s gone from playing open mic nights with an acoustic guitar in 2001 to being a festival headliner in Europe.

He brings a lifetime’s worth of music to the stage, and, to Morello, that achievement is “really satisfying.” But there’s something else that’s essential to his songwriting: it isn’t and will never be nostalgia bait.

“While you may be familiar with some of the songs, I could never do a show that felt like it was a nostalgic show,” he reveals. “It’s a show for now: it’s a show for fighting fascism and it’s a show for celebrating resistance and rocking out. And I still feel like, on the guitar, that I’m peaking.

“I don’t know when this thing’s going to come out and spill the beans, but I did a remix of a Run The Jewels song last night, which sounded like some of my heaviest work with some of my craziest guitar playing. Playing [and] doing tours like the one that’s coming up really has helped to keep me very sharp and continue to try to push the boundaries of what a guitar can do.”

Morello last toured Australia with Prophets Of Rage in March 2018, the band performing at Download Festival and some sideshows. He also appeared with Bruce Springsteen And The E Street Band in 2017, something he’s still very proud of (“I’ve done a couple of very exciting trips with Bruce there,” he notes).

His upcoming tour dates will be special and offer something different. Morello is set to pull all the stops, drawing from the expansive catalogues of Rage Against The Machine, Prophets Of Rage, Audioslave, and The Nightwatchmen (plus some covers).

He explains, “I’ve made 22 albums in my career, and all of it is fair game for my upcoming tour.

“Over the course of the last couple of years, I really enjoyed touring with my backup band, The Freedom Fighter Orchestra, and carrying the torch for Rage Against The Machine, for Audioslave, for Prophets Of Rage. You know, paying honour to all that music in these troubled times. We’ve been having a great time just rocking around the world, and I’m very excited to bring that show to Australia.”

And Morello has some phenomenal memories of Australia, some of which happened in Melbourne and at Big Day Out festival in 2008.

“Let me just say this: I’ve had some of my favourite shows ever in Melbourne,” he says. “I remember there was an Audioslave show from 2003, the Springsteen and Eddie Vedder Highway To Hell opening in 2014, the Rage headliner at the Big Day Out—the second time—I mean, some of the all-time rock highlights have been in Melbourne. We’re going to try to make another one.”

Morello remembers Big Day Out fondly, almost wearing himself out not only with a Rage Against The Machine headlining set but also performing a Nightwatchmen set with Billy Bragg. All of his past performances in Australia will culminate in epic ones this month, where all his music will be combined for truly spectacular shows.

“There was one Big Day Out in 2007 or 2008, whatever year Rage was headlining, and then I did a Nightwatchman set in one of the tents with Billy Bragg earlier in the day,” Morello recalls. “It was an exhausting day, but that music was just as important to me as anything else I had ever done, and it was important to me to play it for Australian fans.

“And now, at this stage, to be able to merge all of those worlds…” he trails off, adding that in the past, he’s always compartmentalised his setlists in terms of the music he’s made.

Morello would go from stating: This is Rage. This is Audioslave. This is the Atlas Underground project, where he experimented with EDM and worked with collaborators. Here’s the folk music of his Nightwatchmen work, and this is Prophets Of Rage, where Morello joined forces with his friends and heroes.

Morello’s next tour offers something special for himself and fans of all of his work alike: “This, now, is an integration of all of that in every riff and every solo. It’s music and a kind of attitude towards solidarity with an audience that’s needed now more than ever.”

Tom Morello will appear at Bluesfest 2025 and perform sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest and Bluesfest Tours websites.

Bluesfest Tours Announces