The Atlas Underground

The Atlas Underground
Studio album by Tom Morello
Released	October 12, 2018
Recorded	2018
Length	44:35
Label	Mom + Pop Music
Tom Morello chronology
World Wide Rebel Songs (2011) The Atlas Underground (2018) The Atlas Underground Fire (2021)

The Atlas Underground is the fourth studio album by American rock musician Tom Morello and the first one released uniquely under his own name. The album was released on October 12, 2018, by Mom + Pop Music.[1][2] The album features guest appearances from Knife Party, Bassnectar, Big Boi, Killer Mike, Portugal. The Man, Whethan, Vic Mensa, Marcus Mumford, Steve Aoki, Tim McIlrath, K.Flay, Pretty Lights, Carl Restivo, Gary Clark Jr., Nico Stadi, Leikeli47, GZA, RZA and Herobust.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	63/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
NME	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

The Atlas Underground received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 63, based on 9 reviews.[3]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Battle Sirens" (Knife Party featuring Tom Morello)	Tom Morello Gareth McGrillen Rob Swire	Swire McGrillen	4:03
2.	"Rabbit's Revenge" (featuring Bassnectar, Big Boi, and Killer Mike)	Morello Lorin Ashton Antwan Andre Patton Michael Render Shelton E. Oliver	Bassnectar	2:59
3.	"Every Step That I Take" (featuring Portugal. The Man and Whethan)	Morello Matt Shultz Ethan Snoreck Matthan Minster	Whethan Dave Sitek (co.) Casey Bates (v.)	3:42
4.	"We Don't Need You" (featuring Vic Mensa)	Morello Victor Mensah	Tom Morello Boots	3:03
5.	"Find Another Way" (featuring Marcus Mumford)	Morello Marcus Mumford Josh Carter	Josh Carter	4:38
6.	"How Long" (featuring Steve Aoki and Tim McIlrath)	Morello Steve Aoki Tim McIlrath	Steve Aoki	4:23
7.	"Lucky One" (featuring K.Flay)	Morello Kristine Flaherty Carl Restivo	Carl Restivo	3:32
8.	"One Nation" (featuring Pretty Lights)	Morello Derek Smith	Pretty Lights	4:15
9.	"Vigilante Nocturno" (featuring Carl Restivo)	Morello Restivo	Restivo	3:29
10.	"Where It's At Ain't What It Is" (featuring Gary Clark Jr. and Nico Stadi)	Morello Gary Clark Jr. Nico Hartikainen	Nico Stadi	3:38
11.	"Roadrunner" (featuring Leikeli47)	Morello Hasben Jones Harry Rodrigues	Harry Bauer Rodrigues	2:48
12.	"Lead Poisoning" (featuring GZA, RZA and Herobust)	Morello Gary Grice Robert Fitzgerald Diggs Hayden Kramer	Herobust	4:05
Total length:				44:35

Personnel

• Tom Morello – guitar, bass guitar (5, 8, 11), vocals (9, 12), executive producer

Musicians Big Boi – vocals (2) Gary Clark Jr. – vocals and guitar (10) Eric Gardner – drums (7, 12) Dave Gibbs – bass guitar (1, 9, 12) John Gourley – vocals (3) GZA – vocals (12) K.Flay – vocals (7) Leikeli47 – vocals (11) Killer Mike – vocals (2) Tim McIlrath – vocals (6) Vic Mensa – vocals (4) Miguel – backing vocals (5) Marcus Mumford – vocals (5) Carl Restivo – vocals (9, 12), drums (9), synthesizers (7, 9), additional guitar (1, 9, 12), MPC (4), backing vocals (5) RZA – vocals (12)

Technical personnel Will Anspach – vocal engineer (4) Steve Aoki – mixing (6) Neal Avron – mixing (5) Bassnectar – mixing (2) Andrew Berlin – additional engineering (6) Lisa Boldyreva – additional engineering (3) Billy Joe Bowers – mastering Mark Brown – vocal engineer (5) Dave Cerminara – additional engineering (3) Greg Collins – guitar engineer (6) Scott Desmarais – assistant mix engineer (3, 4) Kristine Flaherty – vocal engineer (7) Robin Florent – assistant mix engineer (3, 4) Chris Galland – mix engineer (3, 4) Blake Hansen – mixing (8) Kevin Harp – guitar engineer (2) Herobust – mixing (12)

Tony Maserati – mixing (7) Manny Marroquin – mixing (3, 4) Kevin Mills – engineer (10), guitar engineer (1, 9, 12), bass guitar engineer (9, 12), drum engineer (12) Gerardo "Jerry" Ordonez – additional engineering (3) Pretty Lights – mixing (8) Renegade El Rey – vocal engineer (2) Aaron Renner – vocal engineer (11) Carl Restivo – production supervisor, engineer (4, 5, 7, 9, 11), vocal engineer (12), editing (3), additional guitar engineer (3) Tyler Scott – assistant mix engineer (7) Scott Skrzynski – assistant mix engineer (5) Derek Smith – engineer (8) Nico Stadi – mixing (10) Bill Stevenson – vocal engineer (6) Rob Swire – mixing (1)

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[7]	90
Scottish Albums (OCC)[8]	64
US Billboard 200[9]	141

References

1. "The Atlas Underground by Tom Morello on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
2. Ryan Reed (2018-07-26). "Tom Morello Recruits Big Boi, Killer Mike, RZA, Gary Clark Jr. for All-Star Solo Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
3. "The Atlas Underground by Tom Morello Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
4. Neil Z. Yeung. "The Atlas Underground - Tom Morello". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
5. Jordan Bassett (2018-10-12). "Tom Morello – 'The Atlas Underground'". NME. Retrieved 2018-10-13.
6. Will Hermes (2018-10-19). "Review: Tom Morello Stirs Up Rap-Rock-EDM Fury on 'The Atlas Underground'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-02-21.
7. "ARIA Chart Watch #495". auspOp. October 20, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
8. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
9. "Tom Morello Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 23, 2018.