Tom Morello’s favourite guitarist of all time: “Genius”
The landscape of American rock during the 1990s would have looked very different without the unforgettable stylings of Tom Morello. Lending his abrasive yet skilled guitar playing to Rage Against the Machine, Morello was among the most defiant and politically active musicians of the decade. Indeed, the music produced by the California group remains depressingly relevant to this day. Reportedly, though, the first inspiration for Morello’s musical journey came from a somewhat unexpected avenue.
Given the uniquely aggressive playing style of Morello, you might expect for his influences to be largely made up of notable punk rock guitarists – the likes of Mick Jones, Brian Baker or Johnny Thunders. In reality, though, Morello’s influences are much more eclectic. After all, Rage Against the Machine purported a distinctive sonic menagerie, mainly combining styles of punk, metal, and hip-hop to create something entirely new and original. Seemingly, Morello was particularly taken by the world of metal.
Over the years, the guitarist has taken every opportunity to espouse his deep appreciation for Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne. This goes some way to explaining Morello’s playing style, particularly during his early days. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact origins of any genre, but if you were to pick out one particular band that popularised the genre, it would be Black Sabbath. From their origins in Birmingham, the group managed to encapsulate the gloomy industrial landscape of 1970s Britain, inspiring countless future generations in the process, including the likes of Tom Morello.
It was Sabbath’s iconic frontman, Ozzy Osbourne, who first introduced Morello to his all-time favourite guitarist, Randy Rhoads. As he explained to Musicradar in 2012, “I was packed in the back of somebody’s mom’s hatchback in Libertyville. The radio was turned to The Loop in Chicago, and this song called ‘Crazy Train’ by Ozzy Osbourne came on. The other people in the car were more New Wave fans, and they were talking over it, but suddenly I was yelling, ‘Everybody, shut up! What is that?’”.
It was this song that exposed the young Morello to the guitar heroism of Rhoads, who played on the track. “He’s the greatest hard rock guitar player of all time,” he confirmed, adding, “I ran out and bought the Blizzard Of Ozz cassette”. As you might expect, that album – Ozzy Osbourne’s debut as a solo artist – soon became an indispensable part of Morello’s record collection. Talking to Spin in 2021, he even listed it as one album he cannot live without.
During this same interview, the guitarist explained that it was Rhoads who first inspired him to pursue the guitar. “It was a Randy Rhoads poster that I had on my wall when I was practising eight hours a day,” he shared, “and he remains my favourite guitarist of all time. His genius is splattered all over this metal masterpiece […] Every song, every riff, and every solo drips of a guitar genius emerging to kick the world’s ass”.
That last sentence could equally be said about Morello’s own playing style. Across the entire discography of Rage Against the Machine, the seemingly endless and infectious aggression of his riffs helped to establish the sounds of one of America’s most important and politically charged rock bands of the late 20th century.