Update (Watch Here): Watch Rage Against The Machine, Public Enemy & Cypress Hill Members Debut As Prophets Of Rage

What started out as a hopeful Rage Against The Machine reunion has blossomed into something new and exciting, as today band members confirmed reports of a new supergroup called Prophets Of Rage. The band features three of the four RATM members, including Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk, with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real.

Tonight, the intimate Whisky-A-Go-Go club in Los Angeles, CA will host the first-ever Prophets of Rage concert, and the counter on the band’s new website is counting down to a new announcement coming in just a few days. The site also gives a mission statement for the band, saying “We can no longer stand on the sidelines of history. Dangerous times demand dangerous songs. It’s time to take the power back.”

A larger report from Rolling Stone shares more information, including planned setlists that feature songs from Rage Against The Machine’s, Public Enemy’s and Cypress Hill’s catalogs. Wilk says, “The setlist is pretty evenly split between the three groups. We’re also playing a couple Prophets of Rage songs. We’re doing some writing, but I don’t want to give too much away.”

B-Real commented on the setlist, saying “We’re going to surprise people with how we put this all down. There are so many Rage songs that I love, but I think everybody’s favorite is “Bulls on Parade.” It just has a tremendous amount of energy. At this point, it’s hard to pinpoint what the setlist will be, what will make the cut and what won’t. We’re having fun in the process.”

Commerford explains the band’s origins as well, as he’s quoted as saying, “I’m gonna credit Tom Morello with the origin of the idea. He asked me if I was into it. He was the spearhead. When he gets his head wrapped around something it’s like a mental python.”

Morello added, “It all happened pretty organically. We’ve been friends for a long time. It’s not like we went on YouTube and auditioned someone who could do a convincing version of “Bullet In The Head.” That wasn’t it at all. We’ve been musical comrades for a very long time. We’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for each other musically and politically. They’re my idols and friends. I called up Chuck D. I think I texted B.”

Commerford also talks about Zack de la Rocha’s absence from the project, saying he spoke to “Zack and got his blessing, and that’s really great. We’re a family and there’s support across the board. I support him and everything he does, and vice versa. I’ve definitely been keeping him in the know. You’re never going to replace Zack, and we aren’t trying to do that. He’s a unique artist and showman. It’s going to take people that I know he looks up to and that he idolizes and that he’s inspired by. We’re going to plug them in and see what they can do with these songs, because at the end of the day it’s all about the songs. The songs are needed right now, they really are. This is gonna be some cool shit.”

Morello does a nice job of summarizing the band and its purpose. He gets the last line in the article, saying, Prophets of Rage combines the sonic power of Rage, Public Enemy and Cypress Hill. It’s my contention that we can no longer stand on the sidelines of history. Dangerous times demand dangerous songs. Both Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are both constantly referred to in the media as raging against the machine. We’ve come back to remind everyone what raging against the machine really means. It’s a voice that’s been missing too long in the national/international dialogue and it’s back. What better place than here? What better time than now?”

You can read more about the new group here.