Key Takeaways

  • Tom Morello dropped his first-ever solo rock album, Everyone Gets Everything They Want, on September 25, and it’s genuinely one of the more interesting rock records of the year.
  • Guest spots from Serj Tankian, Kneecap, Beartooth, and Morello’s 15 year old son Roman give the record range instead of turning it into a novelty.
  • The lead single “Date Night” tells the true story of Dutch teenage resistance fighters during World War II, and it’s one of the boldest things he’s ever put his name on.

Jump to:

I’ve been a Rage Against the Machine guy since I was a kid sneaking my dad’s CDs, so when I found out Tom Morello was finally putting out a real solo rock album, I had to check it out immediately. Not a soundtrack, not a Nightwatchman folk record, an actual solo rock album with his name on the cover. Everyone Gets Everything They Want came out September 25, and I’ve had it on repeat since.

My honest opinion up front. This is the most fun I’ve had with a rock record all year, and it’s not close. Morello spent decades being the guy who made other people’s songs sound massive. Here he’s finally the whole show, and he uses it to bring in a genuinely wild guest list instead of playing it safe.

A Rage Against the Machine Legend Finally Goes Solo

Morello has spent his career jumping between projects, Rage, Audioslave, the Nightwatchman, Prophets of Rage, but this is the first time it’s just him fronting a straight up rock record under his own name. The album spans blues, punk, gospel, country, rap, and folk without ever feeling like a gimmick, which is a hard needle to thread when you’re this famous for one specific sound.

Metal Hammer’s review called it a star-studded affirmation of why he’s one of rock’s greatest guitarists, and I don’t think that’s overselling it. The riffing is still there when you want it, “Adjourn It” has that classic Morello crunch, but the versatility is what actually stuck with me. He didn’t need to prove he can still shred. He proved he can do a lot more than that.

Date Night and the Rest of the Tracklist

Tom Morello – “Date Night” featuring Roman Morello

The lead single “Date Night” is the one people are going to be talking about. It tells the true story of three Dutch teenage girls during World War II who seduced Nazi officers and then killed them in the woods. That is not a subject most rock songs touch, and Morello wrote it with his 15 year old son Roman, who gets songwriting credits across five tracks on the record. It’s a punk blast of a song and it does not soften the history it’s telling.

The rest of the tracklist keeps swinging in different directions. “Everything Burns” featuring Beartooth hits like a modern rock radio single. Serj Tankian shows up on “Adjourn It” and brings that unmistakable System of a Down wail with him. Kneecap’s appearance is one of the smarter choices on the record, an Irish rap group with its own history of political friction fitting naturally next to a guy who built a career out of protest music. Then you get to “The Last Rung on the Ladder” and “They Can’t Kill Us All,” which go full Dylan style folk storytelling and slow the record down at exactly the right moment.

Morello’s politics have never been subtle, and they aren’t here either, anti fascism and immigrant rights run through most of these songs. What’s different is the delivery. This leans on storytelling instead of sloganeering, and that makes it hit harder, not softer.

Why This One Actually Works

Guest heavy albums usually fall apart because the host artist disappears into the feature list. That doesn’t happen here. Every collaborator gets a moment, but Morello’s fingerprints are all over the production and the guitar work, so it never stops feeling like his record. That’s a harder trick than people give it credit for.

If you grew up on Rage the way I did, this scratches an itch that Audioslave and Prophets of Rage never quite reached, a guy in his sixties still making music that sounds like he’s got something to say and hasn’t mellowed out to say it quieter. I’d put this up against anything else that’s dropped this year in the genre, and I don’t say that lightly.

Vinyl heads can grab the Rebel Swirl pressing here: Tom Morello – Everyone Gets Everything They Want (Rebel Swirl Vinyl). It’s a good one to own physically.

Morello’s had a wild career outside music too, if you’re into that side of him check out my post on his comic book Orchid. And if you’re in the mood for more rock that still holds up, I wrote about why Nirvana’s VMA Vanguard Award was long overdue a while back.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did Tom Morello release his debut solo album?

Everyone Gets Everything They Want came out September 25, 2026. It’s Morello’s first true solo rock album under his own name after decades with Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, and Prophets of Rage.

Who are the guest artists on Everyone Gets Everything They Want?

The album features Serj Tankian, the Irish rap group Kneecap, Beartooth, and Morello’s 15 year old son Roman Morello, who has songwriting credits on five tracks.

What is “Date Night” about?

“Date Night” tells the true story of three Dutch teenage girls who seduced and killed Nazi officers during World War II. It’s the album’s lead single and features Roman Morello.

Is Tom Morello’s album available on vinyl?

Yes, it’s available in a Rebel Swirl vinyl pressing, along with standard CD and digital formats.