Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire

Rage Against the Machine's second album, Evil Empire, hits as hard on 180-gram vinyl as it did in 1996, all clenched-fist funk and political fury.

Following a debut that had already rewritten the rules for rap and metal was never going to be easy, but the band returned tighter and stranger, and no less angry. Evil Empire debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, proof that a record this confrontational could still sit at the top of the mainstream, and Zack de la Rocha's lyrics took aim at media, militarism and power.

Brendan O'Brien produced alongside the band, keeping the sound lean and live. Tom Morello treats his guitar like a sampler, coaxing out turntable scratches and sirens that have no business coming from six strings, while Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk lock into grooves that swing as much as they pummel. Bulls on Parade carries one of the great riffs of the decade, People of the Sun opens the record in solidarity with the indigenous struggle in Mexico, and Down Rodeo rolls through Beverly Hills with real menace. Tire Me later took home a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Three decades on, it still sounds like a protest that refuses to disperse. The heavyweight pressing gives that famous low end all the room it needs.