Rage Against the Machine had already announced a string of US shows including a Coachella headline slot. It’s the band’s first major tour since 2010.

We’ve never needed them more. The members of RATM might’ve toyed with other projects over the last couple of decades. Prophets of Rage was a well-intentioned exercise and Zack de la Rocha’s guest spots on Run the Jewels records are always refreshing.

But we need that original four-piece rap-rock power; the huge Zeppelin-inspired riffs and de la Rocha’s unbridled vocal energy. Most of all we need a band with the guts to speak out against the perversity of American dreams, which have permeated and corrupted the world at large. A band unafraid to scream “fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me.”

Watch: Rage Against the Machine – Know Your Enemy

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The opportunity to scream it with them is coming very soon, especially if you’ll be in North America and Europe between March and September. Rage’s full 40-date tour begins with a previously-announced show in El Paso, Texas on March 26. Their gigs in El Paso, Phoenix, and La Cruses – all of which sit close to the US-Mexican border – are raising funds for “immigrant rights” campaigns.

The band has also announced they’ll be “working with multiple charities and activist organisations throughout the tour.”

The “Public Service Announcement” tour covers much of North America before skipping across the Atlantic to headline the Reading and Leeds festivals and complete a number of Western and Central European festival dates. Run the Jewels will join them throughout the journey.

Run the Jewels – Close Your Eyes feat. Zack de la Rocha

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It was rumoured RATM would be headlining Splendour in the Grass 2020. The event is scheduled for July 24-26. Rage have shows booked shows booked in Canada and upstate New York on July 23 and 27 respectively, making it unlikely but not impossible.

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The biggest gap in the “Public Service Announcement” tour schedule falls between their August 11 New York show and August 28 slot at the Leeds festival. Maybe that’s when we’ll see them? The band last visited Australia to headline Big Day Out 2008.

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