Synopsis

Rage Against the Machine perform "Bombtrack" inside a stark metal cage while archival images and text introduce Peru's Shining Path insurgency and its leader, Abimael Guzman. The imagery draws a parallel between the band's confinement and Guzman's televised imprisonment after his capture. Concert footage, documentary-style material, and confrontational political messaging are cut together with the track's explosive performance, creating a video that functions less as a conventional rock promo than as a compact piece of agitational political media.

Factoids & Trivia

• The opening text presents the Shining Path as a revolutionary movement fighting Peru's government, framing the video from a strongly sympathetic perspective.

• The cage concept references images of Abimael Guzman being displayed to journalists after his capture by the Peruvian military.

• The video was made in a documentary-influenced style, combining conceptual footage with performance material rather than relying on a standard narrative or staged band presentation.

• In a 1993 interview, the band discussed whether the video was politically strong enough to justify using MTV's promotional platform.

• The video was omitted from the band's first home-video release because the group later reconsidered its political position on the subject. It eventually appeared as bonus material on the 2003 DVD "Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium."

• "Bombtrack" was released as a single in 1993 and opens Rage Against the Machine's 1992 self-titled debut album.