Rage Against the Machine in Seoul June 21

The controversial U.S. band, Rage Against the Machine, will be in Seoul on June 21 to perform at the Olympic Stadium.

Their mixture of rap and guiter-driven beats have given RATM a solid fan base in Korea and the live concert is expected to be the hottest ticket in Korea for the first half of the year.

This will not be the first Korean visit for RATM - they were here to perform at the Triport Rock Festival in Inchon July 1999 but the band did not appear due to extremely bad weather conditions. The band members promised to return to Korea at the time.

The name, Rage Against the Machine, is a fitting moniker for a band that promotes political unrest and civil resistance, combining hip hop, funk, and heavy metal to express their left wing beliefs.

RATM released their first album, 'Rage Against the Machine,' in 1991. The self-titled album, with an album cover of a monk burning himself to protest the Vietnam War, was fiercely critical of the U.S., including police brutality, the education system, and violence in slums.

With the hard-driving guitar of Tom Morello and the powerful voice of Zack de la Rocha, 'Evil Empire' in 1996 and 'The Battle of Los Angeles' in 1999 continued to draw attention to the band all around the world.

Tom, who studied Sociology at Harvard University, is considered one of the most experimental guitarists since Jimi Handrix. Zack is the driving force behind the band's radical lyrics and his 'screaming' rap is synonymous with RATM's sound.

Korean fans have a hard time understanding the band's straightforward, aggressive lyrics, but it hasn't stopped some of them from embracing the rebel Che Guervara, a role model for RATM.

RATM recently released the single, ＇Sleep Now In The Fire,＇ and participated in an April rally to improve working conditions for security guards in Los Angeles. The upcoming concert in Seoul is part of the band's world tour from May 28 until the end of August. They plan to perform in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka Japan following the Seoul appearance. Phone: 1588-7890 (www.ticketlink.co.kr)

by Lee Eun-joo