Renegades is the fourth and final studio album by the American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released on December 5, 2000, by Epic Records. It consists of covers of songs by Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Afrika Bambaataa, Minor Threat, Eric B. & Rakim, the Stooges, MC5, the Rolling Stones, Cypress Hill, Devo and others. The cover is a take on Robert Indiana's Love artwork series. Unlike other Rage Against the Machine albums, Renegades was not accompanied by a supporting tour due to the band splitting up almost two months before its release. It was certified platinum a little over a month after release. Shortly after the release, the band members, sans vocalist, Zack de la Rocha, formed a new band, Audioslave, with the former Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell.

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Renegades has an average score of 78 based on 26 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". AllMusic critic John Bush wrote that the record "works well with just a bare few exceptions, in part because Rage Against the Machine is both smart enough to change very little and talented enough to make the songs its own." Alternative Press described the record as "a tour through three decades of sonic recalcitrance" and "the genome map of seditious sound". Entertainment Weekly's Rob Brunner described the record as "a remarkably diverse, if not exactly surprising, mix of heavy rock, hip hop and protest music". He said it "would still be a raging success even if this disc does nothing but introduce a new generation to the joys of Bob Dylan and Minor Threat". Mojo wrote: "This crisp, Rick Rubin-produced outing packs away a machine that was well-oiled to the last." Kitty Empire of NME labeled the record "a brilliant archaeology" and "a sonic history lesson". TheRolling Stone critic Tom Moon said the band executed "diverse tracks" such as Bruce Springsteen's "The Ghost of Tom Joad", the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man", Afrika Bambaataa's "Renegades of Funk" and Bob Dylan's "Maggie's Farm" with "the roaring, fearless spirit that’s been missing in action since these songs were new", while Select regarded it as their "most satisfying record since their debut".

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications