After years of recording and collaborating with a dizzying number of musicians, prolific axeman
Tom Morello combined his inspired guitar wizardry and revolutionary's spirit with a genre smorgasbord of surprises on
The Atlas Underground. Billed as a genre of music that hitherto hadn't existed,
The Atlas Underground blends
Morello's guitar firepower with pounding EDM beats, cutting social justice rhymes, and urgent rock vocals, like a modernized union of the
Judgment Night and Spawn soundtracks from the '90s. In regards to
Morello's own sprawling discography, this set honors the spirit of outspoken protest from his dusty
Nightwatchman work, but veers closer to the cross-genre aggression of
Street Sweeper Social Club and
Prophets of Rage. Considering his past work with
the Prodigy ("One Man Army") and
the Crystal Method (
Tweekend, Drive), as well as his penchant for guitar-as-turntable scratching, it should come as no surprise that
Morello isn't a stranger to electronic dance music. And yet,
The Atlas Underground is still unexpected, a novel effort that packs enough punch to incite a riot on the dancefloor or in the mosh pit. The impressive list of features culls voices from the worlds of rap, indie rock, and punk, while production is provided by artists better known for big drops and high bpms. Each song is a story in itself, with a cast of characters that could fill a festival lineup (including
Portugal. The Man's
John Gourley,
Marcus Mumford,
K.Flay,
Phantogram's
Josh Carter,
Pretty Lights,
Gary Clark, Jr.,
Whethan, Dave Sitek,
Leikeli47,
Baauer,
Miguel, and more), making
The Atlas Underground a head-spinning album that plays like a soundtrack or greatest-hits compilation. On the rock end,
Rise Against frontman
Tim McIlrath and producer
Steve Aoki -- a former political activist himself -- collide for the fiery festival banger "How Long," which slaps an
Aoki beat onto
McIlrath's howling cries of "How long can we drown out [the hungry mouths and burning streets] while the bombs fall at our feet?" Distilling anger and frustration, the rappers turn out the most pointed and socially relevant tracks. Atlanta double-threat and
Dungeon Family brothers
Killer Mike and
Big Boi join
Bassnectar on the rabid "Rabbit's Revenge," which shines a light on police brutality and the black lives violently taken across the United States. Alongside producer
Carl Restivo and
Run the Jewels affiliate
Boots, Chicago MC
Vic Mensa delivers the defiant "We Don't Need You," which rallies against a broken system rife with inequality, violence, and lies.
Wu-Tang Clan's
RZA and
GZA even make an appearance, joining
Herobust on the pro-proletariat closer that urges "Rise...we are many, they are few." Elsewhere,
Knife Party deftly fuses
Morello's wah-wah guitar effects with towering drops on "Battle Sirens," while
Restivo takes an unused
Rage Against the Machine/
Audioslave riff and twists it into a juicy, industrial-edged blues jam. Frustrated, hungry, and full of rage,
The Atlas Underground is a rallying cry set against an inventive and propulsive backdrop that inspires a physical response as much as thoughtful action. ~ Neil Z. Yeung