Album · 30 years old this year
Evil Empire
Evil Empire is the second studio album by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released on 16 April 1996. It followed their 1992 debut and came ahead of The Battle of Los Angeles in 1999. The title borrows a phrase Ronald Reagan and many American conservatives used in the early 1980s to describe the Soviet Union, turning it into something far more pointed in the band's hands.
The record blends alternative metal, funk metal and rap metal, and it landed at number 1 on the US Billboard 200 with 249,000 copies sold in its first week. "Tire Me" won the 1996 Grammy for Best Metal Performance, while "Bulls on Parade" and "People of the Sun" were both nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance. It went triple platinum in the US. Start with those three tracks.
Evil Empire: tracklist, credits and charts
11 tracks · 46:38Tracklist
- 1People of the SunCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk2:30
- 2Bulls on ParadeCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk3:51
- 3VietnowCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk4:39
- 4RevolverCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk5:30
- 5SnakecharmerCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk3:56
- 6Tire MeCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk3:00
- 7Down RodeoCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk5:21
- 8Without a FaceCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk3:37
- 9Wind BelowCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk5:50
- 10Roll RightCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk4:23
- 11Year of tha BoomerangCommerford, Morello, Rocha, Wilk4:00
- Produced by
- Brendan O’Brien, Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine
- Recorded at
- Cole Rehearsal (Los Angeles), Kiss Studios
- Recorded
- November–December 1995
- Mixed by
- Andy Wallace
- Mixed at
- The Enterprise
- Engineered by
- Caram Costanzo, Nick DiDia, Paul Kosky, Dave Rat
- Label
- Sony Music
- Length
- 46:38
Line-up
- Tim Commerford · bass, bass guitar
- Tom Morello · guitar
- Brad Wilk · drums (drum set)
- Zack de la Rocha · lead vocals
Singles
- “Bulls on Parade” · 1 April 1996
- “People of the Sun” · 26 August 1996
- “Vietnow” · October 1997 (EU)
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1996 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1996 | 4 |
| Swedish Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums · 1996 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1996 | 2 |
| Austrian Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1996 | 2 |
| German Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1996 | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1996 | 3 |
All 19 charts
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1996 | 4 |
| Dutch Albums · 1996 | 4 |
| Swiss Albums · 1996 | 4 |
| Finnish Albums · 1996 | 5 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1996 | 6 |
| Scottish Albums · 1996 | 10 |
| Spanish Albums (AFYVE) · 1996 | 10 |
| French Albums · 1996 | 26 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1996 | 37 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia · 1996 | Gold |
| Austria · 2001 | Gold |
| Belgium · 1996 | Gold |
| Canada | Platinum |
| France · 1996 | Gold |
| New Zealand · 1996 | Gold |
| Spain · 1996 | Gold |
| Sweden | Gold |
| Switzerland · 2001 | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States | 3× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
83.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
12k
ListenBrainz listeners
131k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
73k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 16 April
Every year →
More from Rage Against the Machine
Full discography →
The best of 1996
All of 1996 →
Hero of the Day EP
Metallica · 1996
Ænima
Tool · 1996
Load
Metallica · 1996
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
Life Is Peachy
Korn · 1996
Roots
Sepultura · 1996
No Code
Pearl Jam · 1996
The Great Southern Trendkill
Pantera · 1996
Down on the Upside
Soundgarden · 1996
October Rust
Type O Negative · 1996
MTV Unplugged
Alice in Chains · 1996
Everything Must Go
Manic Street Preachers · 1996
More on Sony Music
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1996-03-28 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 28 March 1996 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 16 April 1996 | |
| Wikidata | 16 April 1996 | |
| US release | 16 April 1996 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 28 March 1996 | earliest UK or European date |
17 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | XE | Epic | 5099748102621 | other |
| 1996 | CA | Sony Music | 777499392809 | other |
| 1996 | XE | Epic | 5099748102614 | other |
| 1996 | US | BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. | other | |
| 1996 | PL | Epic | 5099748102645 | other |
| 28 March 1996 | GB | Epic | 5099748102621 | original |
| 15 April 1996 | AU | Epic | 9399700000955 | other |
| 16 April 1996 | US | Epic | 074645752310 | other |
| 16 April 1996 | CA | Epic | 074645752327 | other |
| 18 April 1996 | JP | Sony Records | 4988009773421 | other |
| 21 August 2000 | GB | Epic | 5099748102621 | other |
| 2001 | MX | Epic | 7509949943223 | other |
| 30 January 2008 | JP | Epic | 4547366036015 | other |
| 29 October 2009 | XE | Music on Vinyl | 5099748102614 | other |
| 6 August 2010 | XW | Epic | 884977724905 | other |
| 14 October 2016 | AU | Epic | 0889853819225 | other |
| 6 January 2017 | US | Audio Fidelity | 780014225421 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| itunes | 3000×3000 | native |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |