Rock Review: Tom Morello - Comandante

Score: 84/100 

Release Date: October 30, 2020

Genre: Rock

Similar Artists: Slash, Dave Navarro, Jimi Hendrix, Adam Jones

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Comandante is an onslaught.  The five-song EP, which includes a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, a Slash collaboration, and a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s Voodoo Chile, is a jump in the ocean in winter.  It’s a tumultuous 18-minute thrill ride stimulating all senses, leaving the listener rejuvenated and purged of any preconceived notions of who and what a guitar God should be.  

Master of the special effect, Morello bends feedback to his will.  His signature style comes through tapping and picking, leveraging the entire instrument and using it more as a channel for the sonic bending of electricity than the standard plug and play we hear in classic-rock songs of the past. The ripping, wailing sonic wave he produces on Comandante is well worth the ride.  

“Comandante” is Spanish for Commander, a rock rank Morello has earned and whose authority he takes out on his classic ‘Arm the Homeless’ Stratocaster hybrid electric guitar.  Is there rage? Yes, there is rage.  Rage that escapes not through the lyrics but in the spaces between the notes inside the blistering solos. 

It’s worth mentioning that due to the 2020 shutdown, the highly anticipated Rage Against the Machine reunion tour has been postponed to 2021.  Morello has been making the most of his time off the road. In addition to Comandante, he released a photo book entitled, Whatever It Takes.

All tolled, Comandante is an electric guitar-laden rock tour de force. On an EP, there are no shortcuts or mail-in tunes to fill the space.  Morello has delivered five great songs, which is quite considerate given the fact that it is rare to find five great songs on any full-length album. Simply put, Comandante commands your respect.

- Tom Endyke | Guitar & Pen

8.5.2