Far Out

Tom Morello on his love of The Prodigy

• 21st October 2022
• Sam Kemp

Tom Morello is one of rock’s great radicals. Born in Harlem, New York, in 1964, the musician cemented himself as one of the most innovative guitarists of the 1990s, developing a unique style that has proved incredibly influential. His highly metrical stabs and fizzing distortion were essential aspects of Rage Against The Machine’s high-octane thrash rap sound, which won the group critical and commercial success and made Morello a star. Since then, he’s since performed in supergroups like Audioslave, Street Sweeper Social Club and Prophets of Rage. Here, Morello opens up about his affection for UK hardcore ravers, The Prodigy.

The guitarist’s love of Keith Flint and co’s genre-defining sound isn’t all that surprising. Morello made his name reeling of skull-crushing metal riffs with a rhymic flavour deeply indebted to the flourishing hip-hop and EDM scenes of the late 1980s and ’90s. The Prodigy were at the very forefront of the action, releasing their breakthrough number-one single ‘Charly’ in 1991. Over the next few years, they earned a reputation as one of the most intense and euphoric live acts on the UK dance scene. In fact, Morello once confessed that The Prodigy were one of the only bands to “kick Rage Against The Machines’ ass in a live setting.”

During a conversation with Pitchfork, Morello recalled touring with The Prodigy in Australia: “I didn’t know they were a band—I thought [frontman] Keith Flint was a roadie or something. I would see them around, but they were playing in like the EDM tent, and we were on the main stage. So I ran into him a few years later, like, ‘Oh, hey, how’s it going, what are you doing?’ still thinking he’s a roadie. And he’s like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m here with my band.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh awesome, when are you guys playing?’ He says, ‘After you.’ I’m like, ‘What?’ They were as aggressive and as heavy and as funky as anything that had ever happened. And for me, as a guitarist, it was very inspiring.”

Morello might also have felt a little threatened. The guitar, after all, was quickly going out of fashion. “There have been several times during my career where journalists have counted out the electric guitar,” Morello continued. “One was during the ascent of hip-hop, where it was like, “We don’t need guitar players anymore because we can just sample them.” And in the early stage of Rage Against the Machine, they were like, “Oh, guitar playing is going to be outdated.” I said, “Well, I’m gonna play the shit the DJs play with my bare hands, and let’s see who gets outdated first.”

Morello set about learning the Prodigy’s music on guitar, “practising their grooves and weaving those rhythms with my bare hands and a Marshall stack in a very analogue setting.” It completely revitalised Rage Against The Machines’ sound. By trying to mimic The Prodigy’s breakbeat rhythms on a non-digital instrument, Morello bought new life to what many perceived as a dying genre.

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• Collaboration
• Tom Morello
• Rage Against the Machine

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