Former RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Singer Lashes Out At The BUSH Administration

Former RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE frontman Zack De La Rocha's collaboration with DJ Shadow on a track entitled "March Of Death" has been posted online at this location. The song, which represents a searing attack on the Bush administration's foreign policy, is accompanied on the singer's official web site by separate statements from De La Rocha and Shadow expressing their strong disapproval for the current war with Iraq.

"Without just cause of reason, without legal or moral justification, and without a thread of proof that Iraq directly threatens the security of the United States, the Bush administration has headed to war," begins De La Rocha's statement. "As I am writing this, bombs are raining upon the defenseless civilians of Baghdad in a continuation of a policy that has already claimed the lives of over 1 million innocent Iraqi people. People just like us who want democracy but find themselves cornered by a dictator on one side, naked U.S. aggression on another, and the oil beneath their country, for which it appears they are to be massacred.

"Lies, sanctions, and cruise missiles have never created a free and just society," Zack continued. "Only everyday people can do that. Which is why I'm joining the millions worldwide who have stood up to oppose the Bush administration's attempt to expand the U.S. empire at the expense of human rights at home and abroad. In this spirit I'm releasing this song for anyone who is willing to listen. I hope it not only makes us think, but also inspires us to act and raise our voices."

DJ Shadow added, "Artists, be they painters, actors, writers or musicians, have a responsibility to reflect and interpret the world around them. Our current administration's foreign policy strikes me as being reckless, inhumane, and hopelessly out of step with the so-called 'values' it claims to defend. We, the world's only superpower, have immense capacity to ease human suffering throughout the world, yet we choose to inflict it upon those who deem a threat to our agenda of empire.

"As an American, my government's actions give me cause for great concern. I'm proud to support Zack De La Rocha in giving a musical voice to that concern."

De La Rocha has spent the bulk of the last three years working on a much-anticipated solo album that is expected to surface through the Epic label in the coming months. The singer, who left RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE in October 2000, has been collaborating with a number of artists on various songs that are set to surface on the upcoming CD, including those with NINE INCH NAILS' Trent Reznor, ROOTS' ?uestlove, THE GORILLAZ's Dan the Automator, and CYPRESS HILL's DJ Muggs.