Sophia Michaels
Atlanta post-punk outfit Algiers have acquired a rare verse from Rage Against the Machine’s Zack de la Rocha for their new song, “Irreversible Damage.”
“Irreversible Damage” is a blistering and relentless cut, built around ceaseless percussion, uneasy synths, and what even sounds like a drawn out version of an amber alert phone alarm. De la Rocha cuts through this chaos with some characteristically steely bars, spitting, “This a relapse / what it be god / No rehab for my jihad / A rapture in a grief storm / Time on my neck and it be gone.”
For de la Rocha, the guest spot on “Irreversible Damage” marks his first recorded verse since 2020, when he partnered with Run the Jewels for “Ju$t.” The Rage frontman has been characteristically quiet otherwise, only laying down verses for El-P and Killer Mike since first linking up with them on 2014’s “Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck).” Of course, de la Rocha did return to the stage this year for Rage Against the Machine’s massive reunion tour, though after injuring his leg at a show in Chicago the band was forced to cancel their additional 2023 tour so he could recover.
As for Algiers, “Irreversible Damage” will appear on the band’s next album, Shook, out Feb. 24, 2023 via Matador. Along with de la Rocha, the album features guests such as the Dungeon Family’s Big Rube, Billy Woods, Future Islands’ Samuel T. Herring, Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews, LaToya Kent, Backxwash, Lee Bains III, and Mark Cisneros. Shook marks Algier’s fourth LP and follows 2020’s There Is No Year.
