10 Great Rock Songs Written In Anger
1. Killing In The Name - Rage Against The Machine
When it comes to songs written out of anger, nothing hits the nail on the head quite like Rage Against the Machine. Their entire discography is filled to the brim with songs that have enough verbal venom for any other band's lifetime. Take it from Zack De La Rocha himself, who famously uttered in the song "Freedom" that "Anger is a gift."
Though any Rage song could have fit the bill, "Killing in the Name" is one that the band is well-known for, and for good reason. The trademarks of Rage's sound are all there, from the otherworldly guitar effects from Tom Morello to the rock solid groove from Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford.
However, the lyrics stand out on this one as particularly pointed, as De La Rocha tells the wrongful realities of law enforcement being former KKK members. The words don't so much feel like rapping as much as they are aggressively spoken, with De La Rocha using his voice as an instrumental extension of the percussive attack. And who could forget the famous line that anyone between 12 and 85 have felt: "f**k you, I won't do what you tell me." In just 4 minutes, the band encapsulated the entire emotion of anger into one maniacal song.