Rage Against the Machine were forced to cancel multiple dates of their reunion tour in 2022 after frontman Zack de la Rocha severed his left Achilles tendon, and no rescheduled shows were announced. The band’s drummer Brad Wilk has now offered some sobering news for fans in a new statement. “I want to let you know that RATM (Tim, Zack, Tom and I) will not be touring or playing live again,” he wrote. “I’m sorry for those of you who have been waiting for this to happen. I really wish it was.” Pitchfork has reached out to the band’s management for more information.
Today’s statement from Wilk follows a March 2023 interview with Tom Morello, who was asked directly about the possibility of rescheduled Rage dates. He clarified that the entire band would come together for a statement. “If there are Rage shows, if there are not Rage shows, you’ll hear from the band,” Morello said. “I do not know. When there is news, it will come from a collective statement from the band. There is no news.”
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the ceremony in late 2023. Morello was the only member to attend, hinting in his speech that the other members of Rage weren’t enthused about the induction the way he was.
Rage Against the Machine first announced their reunion tour dates in 2019, which were then delayed several times due to the pandemic. When the tour finally did begin in July 2022, de la Rocha sustained the leg injury that forced the eventual cancellation of European and North American dates across 2023. Last year, the band’s bassist Tim Commerford revealed that he has been living with prostate cancer.