Ask anyone which band, in the last 20 years, has made the largest impact on the political landscape of the United States. Undoubtedly, they will answer “Rage Against the Machine.” Their break-up in early 2000 left a large vacuum for the politically-conscious/I-want-to-change-the-world demographic, but let’s face it—in hindsight, things at that time really didn’t seem so bad in the ol’ US of A. Of course, a year later, everything would change, and for former RATM guitarist Tom Morello believed music, once again, needed a rebellious voice to champion the cause of the revolutionary-minded.

Enter The Nightwatchman–an alter-ego conceived shortly after the United States entered into war with Iraq in 2003. Described by Morello himself as “the black Robin Hood of the 21^st Century,” The Nightwatchman is a one-man acoustic powerhouse, drawing comparisons to the likes of folk artists such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and larger arena acts like Bruce Springsteen.

Morello began wearing the guise of The Nightwatchman officially in November of 2003, when he set off to tour the eastern half of the country for the Tell Us the Truth Tour with political folk masters Lester Chambers and Billy Bragg. The trio sought to spread the message of the dangers revolving around media consolidation and the effect this would have on the control of information. At the time, in an almost superhero fashion, Morello said, “Media consolidation needs smashing, and globalization needs unmasking, and that is what The Nightwatchman is called to do on this tour, and he will respond to that challenge.”

Although he never originally planned to record, due his busy schedule revolving around his then-main project, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman was called into action by muckraking documentarian Michael Moore to pen a song for his 2004 release, Fahrenheit 9/11. The song, called “No One Left,” was a scathing yet poetic attack on the strike-first policy of the United States and how both those in New York City and Baghdad shared comparable agonies as they watched their respective cities burn.

However, in 2007, Audioslave disbanded, leaving room for Morello to dedicate more attention to The Nightwatchman and record his first full-length LP titled One Man Revolution, while also jumping on the soundtrack for Michael Moore’s next film, Sicko. Two thousand seven (2007), a very busy year for Morello indeed, would also see him reunited with his original bread and butter, Rage Against the Machine, for a string of tour dates.

Though very busy, The Nightwatchman found time to head into the recording studio with former RATM producer Brenden O’Brien to record his second full-length effort to be released on September 30^th of this year. The new album, called The Fabled City, will have Morello sharing the mic with such politically outspoken peers as Serj Tankian, from System of a Down, and country solo rocker Shooter Jennings. “My goal was to capture the energy and emotion of The Nightwatchman live shows. There is a much more rocking quality to this record, solos, and riffs, mixed with darker acoustic songs. I think my singing has come a long way as well. I had a lot of devastating losses of family and friends during the past two years, and The Fabled City is a search for hope through music and confronting injustice.”

So what does the future hold for The Nightwatchman? Lots and lots of touring, apparently, as he will embark on a long outing throughout 2008 and 2009 in support of The Fabled City, after his summer headlining spots with Rage Against the Machine at many European festivals, and their August 2^nd performance at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago.

Apart from his musical aspirations, Tom Morello is also a political activist, Harvard graduate, and aspiring actor, having made appearances in both TV and movie versions of Star Trek.