Tom Morello has announced a new solo album and it’s packed with prominent guests from across all genres. Titled The Atlas Underground, it’s due out October 12th through Mom + Pop Music.
Fellow rockers in Portugal. The Man, Gary Clark Jr., and Mumford and Sons’ Marcus Mumford are expected to appear, as are rappers Killer Mike, Big Boi, Vic Mensa, RZA, and Leikeli47. The 12-track collection also includes EDM producers Steve Aoki, Bassnectar, Knife Party, and Pretty Lights.
In an interview Lars Ulrich’s Beats 1 radio show, Morello said he intended to make “a record that was the [Jimi] Hendrix of now,” featuring “guitar playing that is outside of the norm and is extraordinary.” While the guitar parts rip, according to the Prophets of Rage rocker, it was his long and varied list of collaborators that really took the album to another level. Per a statement:
“The riffs and the beats led the way, but the extraordinary talents of the collaborators set my creativity into uncharted territory. I’ve been devoted both musically and as an activist to fighting injustice at every turn. Amid this heightened sense of impending doom, it’s now time to rally the troops in a last-ditch effort to save the planet, and our artistic souls. By challenging the boundaries of what music is and has sounded like before, you can open people’s eyes to changing the status quo in society.”
To tease The Atlas Underground, Morello has shared a pair of new songs: “We Don’t Need You” featuring Vic Mensa and the Knife Party-assisted “Battle Sirens”. Listen to both below.
Tracklist of the album Tom Morello – The Atlas Underground:
01 Battle Sirens (feat. Knife Party)
02 Rabbit’s Revenge (feat. Bassnectar, Big Boi, Killer Mike)
03 Every Step That I Take (feat. Portugal. The Man, Whethan)
04 We Don’t Need You (feat. Vic Mensa)
05 Find Another Way (feat. Marcus Mumford)
06 How Long (feat. Steve Aoki, Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath)
07 Lucky One (feat. K. Flay)
08 One Nation (feat. Pretty Lights)
09 Vigilante Nocturno (feat. Carl Restivo)
10 Where It’s At Ain’t What It Is (feat. Gary Clark Jr., Nico Stadi)
11 Roadrunner (feat. Leikeli47)
12 Lead Poisoning (feat. GZA, RZA, Herobust)
NMR (photo: press)
