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The Battle of Mexico City (2001)

Where the lyrics of The Battle of Mexico City take you, and where it was really made.

The concert on this video was the band's first ever in Mexico City, and it was chosen because the band had long supported political causes there.

Key places

Mexico City, October 1999 (1999)

Live show Palacio de los Deportes — The band recorded this concert at Palacio de los Deportes on October 28, 1999. It was their first concert in Mexico City and part of The Battle of Los Angeles Tour. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Second video release by American rock band Rage Against the Machine
• Concert recorded at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City on October 28, 1999
• Filmed as part of The Battle of Los Angeles Tour
• Released on VHS in 2001, later on DVD
• DVD includes a one-on-one interview with Noam Chomsky and a message from Subcomandante Marcos

Background

• Mexico City was the band's first concert in the city
• The city was chosen because the band had been longtime supporters of various political causes in Mexico
• The DVD sets the Mexico City show alongside documentary segments labeled Documentary part I through V

Recording

• DVD track listing opens with a program start segment (0:25)
• Songs: "Testify", "Guerrilla Radio", "People of the Sun", "Calm Like a Bomb", "Sleep Now in the Fire", "Born of a Broken Man", "Bombtrack", "Know Your Enemy", "No Shelter", "War Within a Breath", "Bulls on Parade", "Killing in the Name", "Zapata's Blood", "Freedom"
• The set ends with an "Outro" segment (1:10)
• Bonus items: Interview with Noam Chomsky (11:41), Interview with Marcos (9:25), Pre-Show Segment (3:08), Tom Morello's Tour of Mexico City (1:53)
• "Bullet in the Head" was also performed but was left off the official release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991.
• Formed after Tom Morello's former band Lock Up broke up; the name came from a song Zack de la Rocha wrote for his former hardcore punk band Inside Out.
• Signed with Epic Records after releasing a self-released demo cassette.

Members

• Zack de la Rocha (vocals), Tim Commerford (bass), Tom Morello (guitar), Brad Wilk (drums).

Career

• Debut album Rage Against the Machine (1992) was a critical and commercial success; ranked 221st on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020).
• Commercial breakthrough came after the 1993 Lollapalooza performance.
• Evil Empire (1996) and The Battle of Los Angeles (1999) both topped the Billboard 200.
• Disbanded in 2000 after de la Rocha quit; Morello, Wilk and Commerford formed Audioslave with Chris Cornell.
• Reunited in 2007, toured internationally, went on hiatus in 2011, and formed Prophets of Rage in 2016.
• Second reunion in 2019 led to the Public Service Announcement Tour, cut short by de la Rocha's injury in 2022.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023; Wilk confirmed in 2024 the band had disbanded again.
• Sold more than 16 million records worldwide as of 2010; influenced the nu metal genre.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Second video release by Rage Against the Machine, recorded at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City
• Released on VHS in 2001
• Later released on DVD in 2001, according to English Wikipedia
• DVD includes a one-on-one interview with Noam Chomsky and a message from Subcomandante Marcos
• Bonus section: Chomsky interview 11:41, Marcos interview 9:25, Pre-Show Segment 3:08, Tom Morello's Tour of Mexico City 1:53

Reappraisal

• Released on vinyl on July 21, 2020 as a Record Store Day exclusive (English Wikipedia)
• Released for streaming services on October 29 (English Wikipedia)
• Discogs lists it as a Record Store Day 2021 exclusive, part of the June 12th drops
• Discogs notes 12,350 copies pressed
• Discogs notes matrix and runout information etched, except "MPO logo ® 2#######", which is stamped

Records

• VHS: 2001
• DVD: 2001 (English Wikipedia), 2002 (Spanish Wikipedia)
• Vinyl: Record Store Day exclusive, 12,350 copies pressed (Discogs)
• Streaming: October 29
• Spanish Wikipedia describes it as the band's second VHS and DVD release, recorded during the tour for The Battle of Los Angeles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

Trivia

• The Mexico City show was the band's first there, chosen because of their long support for political causes in Mexico
• "Bullet in the Head" was performed but cut from the official release after a mistake by Tom Morello during his solo
• English and Spanish Wikipedia give different DVD years, 2001 and 2002
• Discogs notes the vinyl was pressed to 12,350 copies
• The Noam Chomsky interview is the longest bonus item at 11:41

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · es.wikipedia.org

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