Drummer Brad Wilk says Rage Against The Machine "will not be touring or playing live again"
After a highly anticipated reunion tour that was wrecked by COVID and injuries, RATM is apparently done for good
Was the Rage Against The Machine reunion doomed from the jump? It’s certainly starting to seem that way, as drummer Brad Wilk has announced on social media tonight that, at least as far as he’s concerned, the legendary rock group is no longer a going concern, stating that, “RATM will not be touring or playing live again.”
Rage Against The Machine—made up, along with Wilk, by Tom Morello, Zack de la Rocha, and Tim Commerford—previously went their separate ways some time around 2010. (Although Morello, Commerford, and Wilk continued to play together in rap-rock group Prophets Of Rage.) They started making noises about getting back together again in 2019, though, with plans eventually rolling out for an extensive 2020 world tour, including a set at Coachella… which, of course, ran smack into the COVID-19 lockdowns. And then, when the band did get together from some tour dates, playing their first live shows in more than a decade in July of 2022, de la Rocha almost immediately suffered a serious leg injury on stage. The band finished out their North American commitments, finishing with a sold-out series of shows at Madison Square Garden, but had to postpone the rest of their dates.
And then… nothing! At least, until today, when Wilk issued his social media statement. It remains to be seen how Morello, Commerford, and de la Rocha will respond to the news. RATM is a definite “never say never kind of band”—that run that ended in 2010 was, itself, a reunion, after all—but for now, it appears to be going back on hiatus, at the very least. The group was recently inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, during their first year of eligibility; only Morello was in attendance to accept the award. “Don’t wait for us,” he asserted to listeners with typical energy and passion. “Rage is not here.”