by Patrick Ehlers

This article contains SPOILERS. If you haven’t read the issue yet, proceed at your own risk!

The first time I heard Rage Against the Machine, it was on a tape my friend Leann popped into the stereo of my 1989 Toyota Tercel. She played “Killing In The Name” and I just straight up didn’t understand what I was hearing. The song is so angry, wearing resentment and outrage as an outfit instead of as an accessory. There’s very little nuance or subtlety to the refrain “fuck you, I don’t do what you tell me,” and at 16 I thought the song was emotionally immature. Twenty years later, I may still agree with that evaluation, but I also recognize the importance of expressing a single emotion so clearly, so singularly, and so powerfully all at once. Diablo House 1 is very much like “Killing In The Name,” a story singularly focused on expressing the evils of greed and ambition. Continue reading →