Know Your Enemy (Rage Against the Machine song)
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| "Know Your Enemy" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Rage Against the Machine featuring Maynard James Keenan | |
| from the album Rage Against the Machine | |
| Released | November 3, 1992 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 4:55 |
| Label | Epic |
| Composer(s) | Tim Commerford, Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk |
| Lyricist(s) | Zack de la Rocha |
| Producer(s) | Garth 'GGGarth' Richardson, Rage Against the Machine |
| Audio sample | |
"Know Your Enemy" | |
"Know Your Enemy" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It features Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan on vocals during the bridge section, and Jane's Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins playing additional percussion.[2] Allmusic describes the song as "immediately memorable" and "surprisingly straightforward" while music critic Joel McIver cited it as "a standout track" of the album.[3][4] "Know Your Enemy" had received significant radio airplay by 1993, despite never being released as an official single.[5][6]
The song's main riffs were written by Tim Commerford on an acoustic bass. The bridge features Maynard James Keenan's vocals; Perry Farrell was asked to sing the part but his absence led to it being given to former Rage lead vocalist candidate Keenan instead.[7][8]
The album version is not the same as the demo version. The original is over 30 seconds shorter with no singing, uses distortion under the guitar solo without any 32nd notes or whammy pedal, and is notable for the misspelling of "defiance" as D-E-F-I-E-N-C-E. There is also an alternate drum breakdown and the outro section is not present with the song ending on an additional rant.
