Godzilla: How One Famous Rock Band Hoodwinked The Kaiju’s Most Hated Movie

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In the world of MonsterVerse, the latest portrayal of Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, is thriving, with a third crossover film featuring Godzilla and King Kong set for release in 2027. Alongside this upcoming cinematic tale in Legendary’s new universe, Apple TV+ is developing the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and an as-yet-untitled spin-off series set in the same world. However, the history of Godzilla hasn’t always been smooth sailing; the Western adaptation from 1998, which starred Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, and Jean Reno, remains a topic of controversy today. An interesting tidbit about this movie is that one rock band capitalized on its soundtrack.

Rage Against the Machine is a band known for standing by their name, delivering political messages in their hard-rock tunes. For the 1998 film ‘Godzilla’, they were part of an impressive lineup alongside artists like Jimmy Page, The Wallflowers, Ben Folds, Green Day, and others on the soundtrack. In this instance, RATM’s song “No Shelter” wasn’t just a catchy addition to the soundtrack, but it also criticized Godzilla and the entertainment industry during its entire playtime.

Rage Against Godzilla

It appears that the makers of the 1998 Godzilla movie didn’t seem too impressed by Rage Against The Machine’s song “No Shelter,” which they used for the soundtrack. In a rather amusing twist, one of the most contentious verses features Zac de la Rocha addressing Godzilla directly, saying “Godzilla, you’re just a mere motherfucker, a filler, to keep our eyes off the real killer.” Throughout the song, Rocha and his bandmates also didn’t shy away from criticizing American capitalism, with lines like “the masses yearn, keep craving for me, the thin line between amusement and conflict.

Rage Against The Machine wasn’t alone in their disapproval of this version of the lizard king. The 1998 Godzilla movie received a poor rating of 20% on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that both critics and audiences were generally unimpressed with the North American take on the kaiju. Interestingly enough, despite no sequel being made after its release, ‘Zilla would make a comeback in an unexpected manner.

2004’s film “Godzilla: Final Wars” brought back the original Godzilla, known as ‘Zilla, but this time he was defeated, which was a subtle criticism of the Western version of the monster. Since then, the older portrayal of Godzilla, the king of monsters, has appeared infrequently in comparison to the MonsterVerse’s version, with the creatures from “Godzilla Minus One” taking center stage instead.

Rage Against The Machine in Media

Rage Against the Machine has contributed significantly to various aspects of pop culture, but they haven’t frequently critiqued or been involved in as many projects as they have participated in. One of their most memorable collaborations is with the Matrix films, where their music fit perfectly with the film’s trippy and thought-provoking theme. More recently, one of their songs, Guerilla Radio, was included in the hit Netflix adaptation of Devil May Cry video game. With recent world tours, it’s possible that a new album from the band could be on the horizon.

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2025-04-12 21:41