It seems like Rage Against The Machine simply wasn’t meant to complete their reunion tour. Zack De La Rocha injured his leg during the band’s show in Chicago this July, which was later revealed to be a torn Achilles after the band canceled their UK and European dates in August. This morning (October 4), the Los Angeles alt-rockers canceled the 2023 North American leg.
North American 2023 Rage tour CANCELED pic.twitter.com/ILmTGtAulX
— Rage Against The Machine (@RATMofficial) October 4, 2022
“It’s been almost three months since Chicago, and I still look down at my leg in disbelief,” De La Rocha wrote in a note posted to Twitter. “Two years of waiting through the pandemic, hoping we would have an opening to be a band again and continue the work we started 30 some odd years ago. Rehearsing, training, reconciling, working our way back to form. Then one and a half shows into it and my tendon tears. Felt like a sick joke the universe played on me. As I write this I remind myself it’s just bad circumstances. Just a f*cked up moment.”
He continued: “Unfortunately it is a moment that requires a lot of work and healing. I have a severe tear in my left Achilles tendon and only 8% of my tendon was left intact. And even that portion was severely compromised. It’s not simply a question of being able to perform again but extends to basic functionality going forward. That’s why I’ve made the painful and difficult decision to cancel the remaining shows on our 2023 North American leg.”
This reunion tour was initially announced in February 2020 and was scheduled to kick off on March 26, 2020, in El Paso, Texas. It was punted due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, and their first show in 11 years finally took place at the Alpine Valley Music Theater in Wisconsin on July 9.
The band used their long-awaited set in Wisconsin to advocate against the Supreme Court after June’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Days later, they spread awareness around violence against Indigenous people in Canada as headliners at Ottawa’s Bluesfest.
De La Rocha’s cancellation announcement included confirmation that refunds will automatically be provided within 30 days for those who purchased tickets online from AXS or Ticketmaster.