Maps of Music

The Atlas Underground Fire (2021)

Where the lyrics of The Atlas Underground Fire take you, and where it was really made.

The record is credited to Tom Morello, yet its guest list reaches from Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder to Bring Me the Horizon and Phem.

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The Atlas Underground Fire: second collaborative album by American rock musician Tom Morello
Released October 15, 2021
Built around guest appearances, with several different artists on the record
Guests: Bring Me the Horizon, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Grandson, Phantogram, Damian Marley, Mike Posner, Chris Stapleton, Phem, Protohype, Dennis Lyxzén of Refused, Sama' Abdulhadi
Morello is the album's main name, and each guest appears as a featured contributor
The guest list spans bands, solo singers, and rappers
Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder are both named among the guests
Dennis Lyxzén is credited as a member of Refused

The album is Morello's second project of this collaborative kind
Its guests come from different acts and scenes, including Bring Me the Horizon, Grandson, and Phantogram
Damian Marley, Mike Posner, and Chris Stapleton are also listed as guests
Phem and Protohype are credited alongside the more widely known names
Sama' Abdulhadi appears among the final guest credits
The collaboration format puts each guest into a shared record under Morello's name

Source material does not give a studio, city, or session dates for the recordings
The credits name the guests but do not describe how each one was recorded

Thomas Baptist Morello, born May 30, 1964 in Harlem, New York City, raised in Libertyville, Illinois.
Attended Harvard University and graduated in 1986 with a social studies degree.
Joined Lock Up in the mid-1980s; after it disbanded, he co-founded Rage Against the Machine with Zack de la Rocha in 1991.

Known for Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, reunions 2007–2011 and 2019–2024), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019).
Co-founded Street Sweeper Social Club with Boots Riley in 2006.
Also released solo albums under his own name and as The Nightwatchman, a folk alias.

Rage Against the Machine became one of the most popular and influential metal acts of the 1990s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023.
Audioslave's debut album reached triple-platinum status; its second album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard charts.
Serves as an occasional touring guitarist with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, contributing to High Hopes (2014).
Co-founded Axis of Justice with Serj Tankian and is known for socialist political activism.
Ranked 18th on Rolling Stone's list of greatest guitarists of all time.

Wall of Sound rated the album 7 out of 10
The review stated that "not every songs sticks"
The same review said Morello was "playing in a lot of different sandpits ... but there's a lot to like here"
The reviewer's point is that the record tries many styles in one set
Not every track is judged to land equally well
The review still finds a lot to like across the album
Wall of Sound is the only critical source on this album in the material

Guest list includes Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder on the same album
Dennis Lyxzén of Refused is among the guest credits
Sama' Abdulhadi is listed among the final guests
Bring Me the Horizon is the only metal-leaning band named by a full band name in the guest list
Phem and Protohype are credited as guests alongside larger names