Rage Against The Machine's Zack De La Rocha injures leg on stage, does most of show sat against monitor

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By ( Metal Hammer ) published

The Rage Against The Machine frontman injured his leg on stage in Chicago last night

Zach De La Rocha sits on stage
(Image credit: In The Loop / YouTube)

Rage Against The Machine frontman Zack De La Rocha appeared to injure his leg on stage during a show in Chicago last night. The show, which took place at the United Center, where Rage Against The Machine are due to play again tonight, was only the second stop on the quartet's highly anticipated (and pandemic-delayed) reunion tour.

With De La Rocha seeming to hurt his leg after jumping up during a performance of Bullet In The Head four songs into the show, there was a brief break before the band resumed proceedings with Testify. De La Rocha performed the rest of the set either hobbling or leaning against an onstage monitor.

Commenting before the band played Testify, De La Rocha acknowledged the injury. "I don’t know what happened to my leg right now," the frontman stated. "Straight up, but you know what? We’re gonna keep this fucking shit going. I can crawl across this stage. We’re gonna play for you all tonight.” The set featured a number of messages flashed across a huge LED covering topics like gun violence and the recent, controversial rolling back of Roe .v. Wade in the States.

Rage Against The Machine take their reunion tour through a number of American cities this summer, finishing up with a flurry of dates in New York's Madison Square Garden before heading to Europe for a trek that includes headline sets at the UK's Reading and Leeds festivals. They then return to the US for more dates in 2023.

Watch footage from last night's Rage Against The Machine show, including the moment De La Rocha is believed to have injured his leg, below.

Merlin Alderslade
Merlin Alderslade
Executive Editor, Louder

Merlin was promoted to Executive Editor of Louder in early 2022, following over ten years working at Metal Hammer. While there, he served as Online Editor and Deputy Editor, before being promoted to Editor in 2016. Before joining Metal Hammer, Merlin worked as Associate Editor at Terrorizer Magazine and has written for Classic Rock, Rock Sound, eFestivals and others. Across his career he has interviewed legends including Ozzy Osbourne, Lemmy, Metallica, Iron Maiden (including getting a trip on Ed Force One courtesy of Bruce Dickinson), Guns N' Roses, KISS, Slipknot, System Of A Down and Meat Loaf. He has also presented and produced the Metal Hammer Podcast, presented the Metal Hammer Radio Show and is probably responsible for 90% of all nu metal-related content making it onto the site.