The tens of thousands of rock fans who attended Rage Against the Machine's memorable performance at the Plains of Abraham during the Quebec Summer Festival in July 2022 are certainly feeling conflicting emotions since Wednesday night.
On the one hand, there is the sadness that comes with the announcement of the breakup of the legendary rap-metal group consisting of Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk, a few months after their induction into the Hall of Fame. Rock 'n' roll fame.
“I know a lot of people are waiting for us to announce new dates for the canceled RATM shows […] I would like to inform you that RATM will no longer be touring or holding concerts. I'm sorry to those who were waiting for this to happen. I wish it would happen,” Wilk, the band’s drummer, wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.
This is the third time the American group, best known for their fierce anthem “Killing in the Name,” has broken up. RATM initially disbanded in 2000 before going back on tour in 2007. She withdrew from the market again in 2011 before announcing a reunion tour in 2020.
A short tour
Will the third time be the last? If so, anyone who saw the quartet in the summer of 2022 must also consider themselves lucky to have been able to catch them at the right time, at the 19 concerts of the Public Service Announcement tour that were able to take place on North American soil.
This reunion tour, planned for 2020, was initially postponed for two years due to the pandemic. Then, at the second concert in Chicago, singer Zack de la Rocha suffered a leg injury, which we learned much later turned out to be a torn Achilles heel, as if an evil curse had been placed on RATM.
The tour could have ended abruptly, but Zack de la Rocha still decided to go on stage to sing. He sat, but as festival-goers in Quebec can attest, energetic as ever.
Unfortunately, due to the severity of Zack de la Rocha's injury, the band had to cancel the remainder of the tour, which was scheduled to return to Europe and then North America in 2023.
Could they reconsider their decision another time? Above all, we can hope that, as Rolling Stone magazine points out, this remarkable group certainly deserves a better farewell.