"Calm Like a Bomb" is a song by American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

 Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...

, off their third album The Battle of Los Angeles

The Battle of Los Angeles (album)

-Track listing:All songs written and arranged by Rage Against the Machine and all lyrics by Zack de la Rocha.#"Testify" – 3:30#"Guerrilla Radio" – 3:26#"Calm Like a Bomb" – 4:58#"Mic Check" – 3:33#"Sleep Now in the Fire" – 3:25#"Born of a Broken Man" – 4:41...

. Like their song "Tire Me

Tire Me

"Tire Me" is the sixth song from the album Evil Empire by Rage Against the Machine. Although "Tire Me" never had a music video, was never released on any media formats, and had no radio airplay, the song won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance....

" from the 1996 album Evil Empire

Evil empire

The phrase evil empire was applied to the Soviet Union especially by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, who took an aggressive, hard-line stance that favored matching and exceeding the Soviet Union's strategic and global military capabilities, in calling for a rollback strategy that would, in his words,...

, "Calm Like A Bomb" never had a music video or was released on any media formats. It did however, receive enough radio airplay to become an album favorite.

The artwork most commonly associated with the song is from a competition the band held for the then upcoming album The Battle of Los Angeles. Competing artists were given titles to put on their covers including "Agunzagun", "Battle Hymns" and of course, "The Battle of Los Angeles". One of the titles was even a verse from "Calm Like A Bomb" - "The Riot Be The Rhyme Of The Unheard". Tom Morello

Tom Morello

Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...

 eventually used the name "Battle Hymns" for a track on his debut album, One Man Revolution

One Man Revolution

-Credits:*All songs performed by Tom Morello, with additional instruments by Brendan O'Brien*Produced by Brendan O'Brien*Recorded by Nick Didia at Buds Garage and Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, GA...

in 2007.

"Calm Like A Bomb" is notable as a display of guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

 Tom Morello

Tom Morello

Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...

's creative use of a whammy pedal. Like many of RATM's songs, the song's lyrics discuss social inequalities. The song also features a reference to Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata

Emiliano Zapata Salazar was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution, which broke out in 1910, and which was initially directed against the president Porfirio Díaz. He formed and commanded an important revolutionary force, the Liberation Army of the South, during the Mexican Revolution...

. Tim Commerford

Tim Commerford

Timothy Robert Commerford , also known by his various monikers/stage names is the bassist/backing vocalist for American alternative metal band Rage Against The Machine and the now-defunct supergroup Audioslave.-Biography:Tim Commerford was born on February...

 uses a combination of a home-made overdrive pedal and the Jim Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah pedal on his bass throughout the song. In Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

magazine's feature article this past year on the new "Guitar Heroes," a section was printed about Tom Morello, and Calm Like a Bomb was cited as the prime example of his skill and fame on the guitar. He has occasionally referred to the extremely high whammy-pedal effects used in songs such as this as "pterodactyl sounds."

"Calm Like A Bomb" made its live debut on June 11th, 1999, at the KROQ Dysfunctional Family Picnic in Wantagh, NY at jones Beach Amphitheater.

External links

• Axis of Justice Tom Morello and Serj Tankian
  Serj Tankian
  Serj Tankian is a Lebanese-born Armenian-American singer–songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, playwright, record producer, poet, and political activist...
  
  's Activist Website "Axis Of Justice
  Axis of Justice
  Axis of Justice is a non-profit organization co-founded by Serj Tankian and Tom Morello. Its purpose is to bring together musicians, fans of music, and grassroots progressivism to fight for social justice together.-Formation:...
  
  "
• Vietnow.org Rage Against The Machine news resource and forum