Rage Against The Machine Retire From Touring

In devastating news for those who had tickets for cancelled shows and were awaiting rescheduled dates, or anyone who held hope for Rage Against The Machine returning to Australia, drummer Brad Wilk has revealed that the band are calling it a day.

Wilk took to Instagram this morning to share the news. Captioning the post, “Bottom of my heart.. Thank you to every person who has ever supported us”, he wrote in a statement:

I know a lot of people are waiting for us to announce new tour dates for all the cancelled RATM shows. I don’t want to string people or myself along further. So while there has been some communication that this may be happening in the future… I want to let you know that RATM (Tim, Zack, Tom and I) will not be touring or playing live again. I’m sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this to happen. I really wish it was…

2022 saw the iconic rock group reunite for numerous US concerts, but the tour was halted after singer Zack de la Rocha injured his leg on stage in July that year. The band, known for powerful hits such as Killing In The Name, Wake Up, and Bulls On Parade, announced the cancellation via social media.

“It's been almost three months since Chicago, and I still look down at my leg in disbelief. Two years of waiting through the pandemic, hoping we would have an opening to be a band again and continue the work we started some 30 odd years ago,” de la Rocha wrote.

The statement continued, “I have a severe tear in my left Achilles tendon and only 8% of my tendon was left intact. And even that portion was severely compromised.

“It's not simply a question of being able to perform again, but extends to basic functionality going forward. That's why I've made the painful and difficult decision to cancel the remaining shows on our 2023 North American leg.”

Last March, guitarist Tom Morello addressed the future of Rage Against The Machine in a Rolling Stone interview, comparing the band’s devoted fans and music journalists to characters chasing after the ring to rule them all in The Lord Of The Rings.

“Rage Against The Machine is like the ring in Lord Of The Rings,” Morello said. “It drives men mad. It drives journalists mad. It drives record-industry people mad. They want it. They want the thing, and they’re driven mad. 

“If there are Rage shows, if there are not Rage shows, you’ll hear from the band. I do not know. When there is news, it will come from a collective statement from the band. There is no news.”