out of Rage Against the Machine's discography, this is their best album to date. it's a darker, more abstract, and more poigant version of their debut self-titled album. it has all of the same components of their self-titled album, but improved and expanded on. instead of their first record's classic metal influences, this one moves to a more hardcore sound. instead of screaming Fuck you, I won't do what you tell me! he screams Just a quiet, peaceful dance! / For the things we'll never have the subject matter, while still political at heart, is more focused on a specific movement/struggle rather than more general/sweeping criticisms of the American political system.

• People of the Sun — a dedication to the original inhabitants of Mexico, and their struggle against the Spanish conquistadors
• Bulls on Parade — how politicians oppress their citizens, whether subversively (They dont gotta burn the books they just remove 'em!) or physically (Rally 'round the family / With a pocket full of shells)
• Vietnow — bashes American media conglomerates, specfically right wing talk shows, and likens them to McCarthy-esque fear-mongerers like the ones who sent troops to vietnam
• Revolver — a feminist anthem told through the story of a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, ready to finally leave with a revolver in her hand
• Snakecharmer — a metaphorical explanation of how capitalism is utilized by the eilte
• Tire Me — how the powerful and wealthy literally "tire" the public, through different propaganda: Now that history's a flowery cancerous mess and Of roll that film she's a precious, a precious one with the "she" representing an anthropomorphized America

"Rage Against the Machine have jacked up the sociopolitical siege mentality in their metallic hip - hop to such a dogmatic degree — and honed their sound to such maniacally shrill perfection — that the band and the roaring joys of its harangue 'n' roll seem virtually sexless."

— Rolling Stone on Evil Empire

• Down Rodeo — addresses the social inequality between the underprivileged and the privileged during the brutal beating of Rodney King and subsequent 1992 Los Angeles Riots
• Without a Face — "Since 1986, as a result of a lot of the hate talk and hysteria that the government of the United States has been speaking, 1500 bodies have been found at the border. We wrote this song in response to it. It's called Without a Face"
  —Introduction to Without a Face by Zack de la Rocha live at Pink Pop, Hilversum, Hoiland, May 1996
• Wind Below — another metaphorical song, where the "wind" is a representation of a revolution; specifically one from the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN)
• Roll Right — tells about the rightward shift that occurred during Ronald Reagans "Reagan Doctrine" of the 80s. where Reagan called it a 'rollback' away from communism (by toppling communist governments in other countries using the CIA), Zack de la Rocha calls it what it is: a "roll" to the right
• Year of tha Boomerang — a sort of call-to-action song, detailing historical movements (e.g. the Haiti Revolution, Dachau, American slavery) and expressing the want to Let the guilty hang / In the year of tha boomerang

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