u/Which_Touch548

Originally published in Raw (UK): 28 Jun 1989

1. Advert 1 & Review - Kerrang: 05 Oct 1996
2. Advert 2 - Kerrang (UK): 12 Oct 1996

Sadly, no poncho on Gillan this time....

1. Advert 1 - Kerrang (UK): 17 Oct 1992
2. Review 1 - Metal Hammer (DE): Nov 1992 (Translation below)
3. Advert 2 - Metal Hammer (DE): Nov 1992
4. Review 2 - Metal CD (UK): Vol 1, Iss 1/1992

ALBUM OF THE MONTH

ALICE IN CHAINS

Dirt (Sony)

The second album from Alice In Chains was eagerly anticipated. After all, they were among the first of those so-called Seattle bands to achieve initial commercial success (with their debut, FACELIFT), at least in the States, even if they hadn't yet become as 'big' as Nirvana would a little later. While its predecessor already possessed an immense and captivating intensity, the newcomer, DIRT, takes it to a whole new level. When the record company's announcement states that Alice In Chains have become 'more complex and heavier,' it's actually true for once. Besides a significant increase in melodic parts, Alice In Chains also rely on brutally vicious riffs and sometimes intricate and confusing structures on DIRT, which stand in stark contrast to their rather simply structured debut. At times, it even evokes memories of the brilliant King's X, which should by no means be interpreted as a criticism Alice In Chains have opened up, becoming significantly more versatile in the execution of their musical ideas, yet the aforementioned intensity of FACELIFT – thankfully – has not suffered from these changes, but has been fully preserved. This is certainly not a band that achieves success practically overnight, but rather a group with enough potential to develop their sound from album to album. Everyone talks about evolution, but what in most cases turns out to be an empty phrase actually finds its confirmation on DIRT. That too is possible... Which means: six points back then for the successful debut FACELIFT, seven for the brilliant follow-up DIRT

Andrea Nieradzik 7

Originally published in Kerrang (UK): 01 May 1986

1. Metal Forces (UK): May 1989
2. Hot Metal (AUS): Jul 1989

Translation via Google Translate:

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

"They took our language, our culture, our values ​​and ideals, our identity. They tore our families apart, and they keep us deliberately and violently where they think we belong: on the margins of society, in the gutter. "It's cold in the German autumn of 1992. Even colder if you've only ever known the Californian sun. As a gift and a welcome, the land between the Rhine and the Oder rivers bestowed upon Zac de la Rocha, first and foremost, a truly German cold. "We have a message," he sniffs, "that is incredibly important to us. The music serves to spread this message, to make it heard by as many people as possible."

Zack de la Rocha is the singer of the US band RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. And Chicano. Chicanos, the Spanish-speaking population of the USA, may have long constituted the majority in the Golden State of California, but in reality, they are still treated as an underprivileged minority by the white upper and middle classes, living in the ghettos of the run-down suburbs, excluded from the 'American Way of Life' of white people. No wonder someone becomes rebellious.

"I don't believe in the American politics. I don't believe in American democracy. It's hypocritical, deceitful, and serves only one purpose: to maintain power for the rich. For this, Black people, Chicanos, Native Americans, Asians, and all other minorities are oppressed. If necessary, with the armed force of special police units that live in the ghettos as if there were a civil war, beating, torturing, and killing. Naked fascism reigns in America. Even a white President Clinton will hardly change that, at best he'll do some cosmetic work."

And further: "We musicians are today the spearhead of a new civil rights movement from below, a movement that emerged from the slums and ghettos are coming and rapidly gaining power and influence. We will not let 'those up there' rest. The spearhead of this movement is undoubtedly the Black hip-hop bands, but also the white and Black hardcore groups. And they are being heard, even by the white kids in the clean suburbs. Reason enough to wield the censor's sword against bands and musicians. The much-vaunted freedom of speech has long meant nothing in the bigoted 'model democracy' of the USA! But we will not be silenced. It is high time that something changes in America, that we, the underprivileged, exploited, and marginalized minorities, are finally taken seriously and treated as equals, that our own culture and history are accepted and respected as an integral part of America. This also means that the various minorities begin to communicate with each other, instead of isolating themselves from each other. Here, we as musicians can achieve an enormous amount, because music is often the only means of communication that still connects Black and Chicanos, Native Americans, Asians, and Whites."

The political message for civil rights and against racism and fascism is disguised by Rage Against The Machine with a musical mix of hip-hop elements, American hardcore, classic metal riffs, jazzy interludes, and traditional seventies rock that takes some getting used to. This cocktail works, at least live, because the band certainly held its own in front of the devoted Suicidal Tendencies crowd at Cologne's E-Werk. The conditions were, of course, also favorable. "The Tendencies," emphasizes Zack de la Rocha, "treat us extremely fairly! We get to play for a full forty minutes and get full sound and full light. A support act couldn't ask for anything better. The headliner's crew is also supporting us to the best of their ability!"

With so much commitment and fighting spirit, it's somewhat surprising that the band is signed to a major label, which, according to traditional thinking, is a pillar of the attacked repressive 'capitalist-racist-imperialist' US system. Zack has apparently heard this question quite often: "Yes, I know, it's actually a contradiction in terms. Originally, we really wanted to do this thing completely on our own. We even recorded a 12-track album in our rehearsal room with a borrowed tape machine before we even went on stage for the first time. When the concerts started, we sold tapes of these recordings, around 5,000 in total. So that was actually pretty good. At least that's how various labels saw it, because suddenly offers were coming in from all sides. We all got involved Especially those from 'independent' labels. The only company, however, that could and would guarantee us absolute creative freedom and total non-interference in our lyrics, was ironically the major label Epic. We deliberated for some time and then finally decided to give it a try. The deciding factor was ultimately that we want to reach as many people as possible with our messages. Who can ensure that better than an industrial company with its effective sales and marketing apparatus? And so far, the company has kept its word and hasn't interfered even once!

In the turbulent sixties, that was called 'fighting the system from within'.

Edgar Klüsener