Tom Morello has strangely compared his band Rage Against The Machine to the all-powerful One Ring from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings.
When asked by Rolling Stone whether Rage are on an indefinite hiatus following frontman Zack De La Rocha breaking his leg and causing the band to cancel a string of tour dates, Morello replies: "Rage Against The Machine is like the ring in Lord of the Rings. It drives men mad. It drives journalists mad. It drives record industry people mad. They want it. They want the thing, and they’re driven mad..."
The guitarist is referring to the powerful ring created by The Lord Of The Rings' primary antagonist, the Dark Lord Sauron. Within the books, the ring becomes a source of madness for those that hold and seek its power.
Elaborating on Rage's current situation, Morello adds:
"When there is news, it will come from a collective statement from the band. There is no news. Do Rage Against the Machine fans around the world deserve to see the band? Yes. Of course, they do. Would the times benefit from a culturally, spiritually, rockingly, potent band like Rage being onstage? Of course. I don’t have news for you on that. I apologize. There’s nothing internal in our discussions that says either yes or no.”
Elsewhere, he discusses the on-stage performing abilities of de la Rocha, who he describes as being "more compelling" than 99% of frontmen even when injured. Rage Against The Machine were due to play dates around the world prior to De La Rocha's injury, and are yet to schedule any part of their tour.
