Following the news that Rage Against the Machine will “not be touring or playing live again,” guitarist Tom Morello has posted his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction speech.
Morello was the only member of the “Killing in the Name” outfit to attend the November 2023 ceremony. In his three-and-half-minute remarks, which he shared on his Instagram, Morello urged Rage fans to continue on the band’s message on their own.
“Rage is not here, but you are,” Morello said. “The job we set out to do is not over, now you’re the ones that must testify.”
He added, “If you’re bummed out you didn’t get to see Rage Against the Machine, then form your own band, and let’s hear what you have to say.”
The speech ended with a quote from Morello’s 100-year-old mother, Mary Morello, which he uses as the post’s caption: “History, like music, is not something that ‘happens.’ It’s something you MAKE.”
Morello’s Instagram marks his first public comments after drummer Brad Wilk announced Wednesday, November 3, that the third iteration of Rage Against the Machine was over. The band had originally been active from 1991 to 2000 and then again from 2007 to 2011. They reunited in 2019 for a planned 2020 tour, which was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Two dates into the reunion tour, frontman Zack de la Rocha suffered a torn Achilles tendon. Though he performed while seated for the remainder of the run, Rage canceled their 2022 tour of the U.K. and Europe as well as their 2023 U.S. dates. Since then, the status of the band had remained in doubt until Wilk’s announcement.
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