'I Continue to Carry That Torch' - Tom Morello Discusses Rage Against the Machine's Legacy While Celebrating New Solo Music

On Thursday (July 10), Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights to celebrate the release of his latest solo track, "Pretend You Remember Me." Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"Over the course of the last year, I've been working on what will be my first solo rock album," Morello shared with Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong.

"I've made 22 albums in my career...but I've never made a solo rock album, and I wanted to. The last couple of years I've been touring and sort of paying honor to that entire lifetime of music and those shows are so kind of life-changing for me — to be able to embrace that history while pushing forward."

With that in mind, Morello said the new album he's working on captures the big riffs of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave while balancing the songwriting side of his world.

"'Pretend You Remember Me' is a song that's written for these times," he admitted.

"I've been on the front lines in the streets of Los Angeles in this ongoing immigration war that has been happening here and standing up for immigrants who are being kidnapped by these masked agents."

Morello partnered with The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights for "Pretend You Remember Me" to help raise awareness in the continued fight against the injustices he sees around him.

"I'm in favor as much as anyone of going after people who are violent criminals, whether they are documented or undocumented," he said.

"You know, some of the biggest violent criminals happen to sit in Washington...and I definitely think that they should be gone after. But when it comes to just hard-working people who are just like you and [me] trying to make a decent life for their families, if you're going to deport anything, let's deport injustice."

Tom Morello Reflects on Rage Against the Machine's Legacy

Along with diving into Morello's new theater production, Revolution(s), that debuts at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago later this year, he also spent some time discussing the legacy of Rage Against the Machine.

"The fact that the band still comes to mind in troubled times means that we did good work," Morello said.

"We've played 19 shows in the last 14 years, so it's a real testament to the legacy of those albums that people care. When I was in the streets of Los Angeles protesting against ICE over the last couple of months, half of the signs and half of the tunes being blasted are from that band."

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Morello said that while he finds great pride in that, he also believes it means there is still a lot of work to do.

"I continue to carry that torch and do that work every day in my own life."

What Else Did Tom Morello Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• Why he's not ready to write a memoir: "The way I look at it is I'm still in the middle of this story. These are the busiest years of my life. I've never been more excited about writing, recording and performing music. I'm now playing a lot with my son, Roman. He's a very super-skilled 14-year-old prodigy guitar player ... Maybe at some point, but I don't want to pause right now because there's still a lot of rock to be rocked and a lot of power to be fought."
• One reason why he's excited for Revolution(s) to hit the stage: "It's like a Broadway musical but it's more like an illegal underground rave with a mosh pit that we're doing onstage."
• Why people shouldn't be surprised to hear him sing on "Pretend You Remember Me": "I've been singing on records since 2007. Every once in a while people will be like, 'I didn't know [you had a] rich, milk chocolate baritone voice, it sounds pretty good.' I'm like, yeah, there's a bunch of records you can hear that on, but yeah, it's really in the forefront with this song."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Tom Morello joined Loudwire Nights on Thursday, July 10; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.