Renegades
by Rage Against the Machine
  • Record Label: Epic
  • Release Date: Dec 5, 2000
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. Select
    60
    Renegades is Rage's most satisfying record since their debut. [Jan 2001, p.104]
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  2. Sonicnet
    60
    From a pounding rendition of "Pistol Grip Pump" by West Coast hip-hoppers Volume 10, to a snarling, grunged-up assault on Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm", singer Zack de la Rocha and company deliver atomic thrills with revolutionary fervor. Still, anyone hungry for new insights into this uniquely righteous band, or looking for evidence of risk-taking, may feel shortchanged.
  3. Q Magazine
    60
    Those lying closest to their own unsubtle ouevre, ie the Minor Threat and Cypress Hill tracks, are as crunching as die-hards could hope for. But the arch sneer of The Rolling Stones' Street Fighting Man and Bob Dylan's Maggie's Farm are predictably reduced to chalkboard lessons in "angry".

Awards & Rankings

43
#43 Best Album of 2000
18
#18 Most Discussed Album of 2000
8
#8 Most Shared Album of 2000

User Reviews

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User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 55 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 47 out of 55
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 55
  3. Negative: 2 out of 55
  1. GdzillaKid
    Aug 8, 2022
    10
    This is literally my favorite Rage album. The entirety of this album mixes metal and hip-hop and funk so fluently while still staying true toThis is literally my favorite Rage album. The entirety of this album mixes metal and hip-hop and funk so fluently while still staying true to the RATM sound and still sharing their MO. Solid listen if your a Rage fan.… Full Review »
  2. nmarat
    Dec 23, 2021
    10
    Rage Against the Machine's self-titled album is a record that pretty much everyone was waiting for, so it's only right that its follow-up,Rage Against the Machine's self-titled album is a record that pretty much everyone was waiting for, so it's only right that its follow-up, Renegades, is one that no one expected. Certainly, the album has a strong RATM foundation -- Tom Morello's trademark staccato riffing, Zach de la Rocha's howling lyrics, and Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk's powerful drumming -- but it also has a guest list as long as your arm, including Chuck D, B-Real, and Tim Armstrong. The result is a record that sounds like a blend of the rap-metal RATM, the Cypress Hill-meets-Metallica genre-busting Antrax, and the general alternative rock of the post-Y2K world. There are even traces of de la Rocha's 1996 side project, One Day as a Lion, a collaboration with Wilk and Commerford, in a handful of the songs. That's why it's frustrating that so much of Renegades sounds like generic alt-rock, since there are enough left turns and left-field collaborations to make the record pretty exciting. The two standout collaborations are "How I Could Just Kill a Man," a collaboration with Chuck D that is not only the most original song on the record, but one of the best of the band's career; and "Maggie's Farm," a harrowingly raw and intense jam session with John Doe and Exene Cervenka. Of course, if Renegades had been the Rage Against the Machine follow-up that the world expected, it probably would have been a more consistent effort, but it's still an album that's more than worth hearing.… Full Review »
  3. Alcohheartburn
    Mar 30, 2021
    6
    Meh it took me almost 17 years to actually enjoy this album it was mostly covers of other band or rap music covers but it aged well
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