Brad Wilk, the drummer of Rage Against the Machine, announces that the band will not be embarking on any future tours or live performances

Brad Wilk, the drummer of Rage Against the Machine, has stated that the band’s future does not include any upcoming tours or live performances. This marks the third time in the last two decades that the band has undergone a split.

In a post on social media on Wednesday, the veteran drummer announced that there are no plans for new tour dates following the cancellation of the band’s North American tour in 2022 due to frontman Zack de La Rocha’s injury, tearing his left Achilles tendon.

“I do not wish to extend false hopes for either the fans or myself,” he conveyed via Instagram. “While discussions have indicated a possible future reunion, I want to make it clear that RATM (Tim, Zack, Tom and I) will no longer be embarking on tours or live performances.”

“I regret for those of us who have been waiting for this to happen,” he continued, while also expressing gratitude to fans in the post. “I truly desire it was…”  The post finished there without offering fans any further details. 

The announcement appears to be the third occasion Rage Against the Machine has disbanded, at least temporarily. The band initially broke up in 2000 when Rocha stated he was leaving the band because “our decision-making process has completely failed.” They reunited in 2007 after reuniting to play at Coachella and proceeded to tour until 2011. The band split again that year, but revealed almost a decade later in 2019, they were returning to headline a tour in 2020. However, that tour was delayed until 2022 because of the pandemic.

The announcement also comes months after the punk metal band, best recognized for being vocal for their leftist views, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, where they were presented by Ice-T. During the ceremony, guitarist Tom Morello encouraged the crowd to fight for a world “without compromise or apologies.”

In 2022, after the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade, they displayed pro-abortion images of text saying “Abort the Supreme Court” during a reunion concert.  

Rage Against the Machine formed in 1991 and released their debut self-titled album the following year – receiving critical acclaim and commercial success.  The band won two Grammy Awards –  one for “Tire Me” for Best Metal Performance in 1997 and another for “Guerilla Radio” for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2001. Their debut album was ranked among Rolling Stone’s list of 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.