Rage Against the Machine is no more, at least as a touring and performing entity. In an Instagram post, drummer Brad Wilk revealed that the influential quartet will not resume their abbreviated 2022 tour and has no plans to play again.
“I know a lot of people are waiting for us to announce new tour dates for all the canceled RATM shows,” he wrote, referencing the torn Achilles tendon which forced frontman Zack de la Rocha to perform while seated and eventually forced the group off the road entirely. “I don’t want to string people or myself along any further. So while there has been some communication that this may be happening in the future, I want to let you know that RATM will not be touring or playing live again. I’m sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this to happen. I really wish it was …”
“Bottom of my heart … Thank you to every person who has ever supported us,” he added in the post’s caption.
After a nine-year hiatus, Rage Against the Machine reformed in 2020 and announced a lengthy tour, including a headlining spot at Coachella which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour finally began in July 2022, but de la Rocha was injured during the second show in Chicago and was only able to make it through a total of 19 gigs, closing with a five-night stand at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
In November, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but only guitarist Tom Morello showed up to the ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The next day, de la Rocha was seen in Washington, D.C. at a pro-Palestine march.
Last month, bassist Tim Commerford released his latest 7D7D single, “Written on a Napkin.” In 2022, he revealed to SPIN that he had been battling cancer of the prostate, which was surgically removed before the reunion tour.
SPIN has reached out to the non-Wilk members of the band for comment.
