Metalheads often can’t find a clear path on how to become a connoisseur of Bruce Springsteen’s iconic career. Rage Against the Machine guitarist and E Street Band ally Tom Morello, however, is one of the biggest Springsteen fans on the planet, so we asked him to provide a Metalhead’s Guide to the one-and-only Boss.

“I didn’t grow up a Bruce Springsteen fan,” Morello admits. “I discovered him rather late. At the time of the big Born in the USA media blitz, I was a fan of the Clash and Gang of Four and bands like that, so I didn’t really understand what it was, but it was an HBO special of the Amnesty International tour which is what first turned me on to Bruce Springsteen.”

“He both rocked the stadium and made me cry all within this one hour of tremendously emotional performance. He had in him the thing I admire most in artists; he was playing to save everyone’s soul in the room. So I bought the Darkness on the Edge of Town record and was like, ‘Okay, now I understand.’ Then I went to Nebraska and I was all in.”

Morello continues, “Those two records really made me feel surprised that Bruce Springsteen was not from Libertyville, Illinois — the town where I grew up — as it felt like the tension and the anxiety and the hopefulness of escape and the feared dark realities that loomed around my suburban existence were really manifested in the music of Bruce Springsteen.”

Watch the video above for more on Morello’s super fandom of Bruce Springsteen along with the Rage legend’s recollections of touring with the Boss. Rage Against the Machine will embark on a gigantic reunion tour in 2020, so click here for the full list of dates. To grab Morello’s Atlas Underground record, click here.

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