Tom Morello Album ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want’: Inside the Fire

Tom Morello’s new album brings together Kneecap, Serj Tankian and his son Roman for a defiant rock statement shaped by protest, resistance and the fight against authoritarianism.

Tom Morello has never treated the electric guitar like a polite background instrument. On ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want,’ his first solo rock album, the instrument becomes a siren, a protest sign and, occasionally, a small musical flamethrower.

The record brings together Kneecap, Serj Tankian, Beartooth and Morello’s 15-year-old son Roman, who contributed fierce riffs to five of its 11 tracks. Morello describes the album as a response to authoritarianism, far-right politics and the growing pressure placed on artists who refuse to keep quiet.

A solo album made from necessity

The album arrives after Morello’s long career with Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, but he says this project feels less like a side quest and more like a new chapter. Produced by Tyler Smyth, Carl Restivo, Zakk Cervini, Dan Carey and Sam Nelson, the collection is built around urgency rather than nostalgia.

“In this hour, rebellion is an act of self-care and rock ‘n’ roll is an act of self-defence,” Tom Morello said.

For Morello, the record is his 22nd album overall, but its emotional temperature takes him back to the beginning. He compares its spirit to the first Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave records: music created at the edge of something volatile, with no interest in sanding down the rough edges.

“‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want’ is music made out of total necessity. It’s my first solo rock album, my 22nd album in my career and it’s a record for everyone who’s had enough.”

That phrase feels central to the project. This isn’t simply an album about being angry. It’s about transforming frustration into motion—turning the volume up until people in the next room have no choice but to listen.

Hear the opening salvo: ‘Adjourn It’

The song ‘Adjourn It,’ featuring Serj Tankian, takes aim at anti-immigration rhetoric and the political machinery that turns vulnerable communities against one another.

Morello said the song was written during the height of an ICE presence in Los Angeles. Three Angelenos shaped the track: Morello, Tankian and Roman, who wrote its central riff. The image he gives is stark—dark-windowed vans moving through city streets while public fear becomes part of the landscape.

Tankian, a longtime friend and musical ally, supplied what Morello calls a spectacular chorus. Yet the song isn’t only a furious reaction. Morello also sees rock as a potential bridge, a way for listeners to encounter ideas they might otherwise avoid simply because they’re drawn in by the guitar.

He argues that “divide and rule” remains one of the most effective tools available to those in power. By demonizing immigrants, trans children and other vulnerable groups, political narratives can distract working-class people from the economic interests they share.

His answer is a wide-reaching rock song: direct, loud and open enough to pull people in before the lyrics have fully landed. Sometimes, as Morello put it, someone can encounter a new idea because they love the guitar solo. As a fan, that feels very familiar. Plenty of us have been ambushed by politics through a song before we were ready for the lecture.

‘Unconquered’ connects Morello with Kneecap

The album’s collaboration with Kneecap began with admiration. Morello had followed the Belfast trio from their early days and praised their willingness to stand alongside oppressed communities. He also pointed to his Irish family heritage, saying that his great-grandfather was named Thomas Fitzgerald and that he feels a personal connection to Ireland’s history of rebellion.

For the track ‘Unconquered,’ Morello established three rules:

• The song had to be called ‘Unconquered.’
• It needed a devastating hook.
• It had to ignite a festival crowd.

According to Morello, the collaboration checked every box.

The song is built around what Morello calls an unconquered spirit—a force that survives repression, state violence and intimidation. He imagines it moving from college campuses to refugee camps and from concert stages in Dublin to audiences in Detroit.

“With this song, the idea was to make one guitar sound like an entire revolution,” Morello said.

He also frames the album as his personal “State of the Union address,” a collection intended to speak plainly about the political moment without pretending music can remain sealed off from the world around it.

Roman Morello brings a new generation of riffs

One of the most personal parts of the record is Morello’s work with his son Roman. At just 15, Roman wrote riffs for five of the album’s 11 songs, including ‘Adjourn It.’ Morello describes him as a “wunderkind,” praising the energy and concentration his son brought into the sessions.

The collaboration has also extended beyond the studio. Morello has taken inspiration from Roman’s playing, borrowed riffs from him and shared the stage with him.

When asked whether Roman reminds him of himself at the same age, Morello offered a revealing comparison. At 15, Morello hadn’t started playing guitar yet; he was busy with Dungeons & Dragons and wondering why he couldn’t get a date. Roman, meanwhile, is already creating riffs that his father says he wouldn’t have imagined himself.

Morello jokingly dismissed accusations of nepotism, arguing that talent speaks for itself. His pride is obvious, but so is his genuine curiosity. Roman isn’t simply being invited into an established family tradition—he’s bringing ideas that challenge the person who helped build it.

Why Morello refuses to separate music from politics

Morello’s support for Kneecap has placed him in the middle of public controversy, but he treats that pressure as part of the job. When people complained about the political message written on the back of his guitar during a festival performance, he rejected the idea that artists should leave their beliefs backstage.

His response was blunt: he has spent decades making anti-racist and anti-fascist songs. On ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want,’ the track ‘Date Night’ continues that tradition as an explicitly anti-Nazi song.

For Morello, an artist’s responsibility is straightforward: speak the truth as they see it through their art. That principle has also shaped his response to criticism of Kneecap, whose members faced calls for their removal from a major festival.

He compares the situation to past controversies involving Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave, including support for political prisoners and resistance from law-enforcement organizations. His conclusion is characteristically uncompromising: art that pleases everyone during a tense political period may not be challenging enough.

Morello also broadens the conversation beyond musicians. Journalists, filmmakers, students, carpenters and unions have all faced pressure, he said. The issue is not merely whether a band is censored; it’s whether ordinary people recognize that change requires participation.

“Courage is contagious,” Morello said.

That idea runs through the entire project like a live wire.

Free speech, human rights and the cost of speaking out

Morello has also supported Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian song ‘Hind’s Hall’ and defended artists who speak publicly about civilian suffering. He argues that opposing the mass killing of children should not be treated as the controversial part of the conversation.

His broader position is that human rights must be applied consistently. Criticizing the actions of a government or institution, he stressed, should not be confused with hostility toward people of a particular religion or community.

That distinction matters to him because political conversations are often flattened into identity battles. Morello says his goal is peace, justice, equality and human rights across the board—and that he considers it his duty to speak whenever those principles are violated.

From Bruce Springsteen’s tour to Power To The People

Morello recently completed another tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. He describes those shows as part of a wider call to defend democracy, especially as Springsteen faced personal attacks from the president after criticizing the administration.

Morello’s reaction combines humor with alarm. He may laugh at the childishness of the insults, but he doesn’t mistake them for harmless noise. His answer is to keep moving: perform, organize and use whatever time is available to resist authoritarianism.

That spirit also feeds into the planned Power To The People Festival, which grows out of Morello’s years of organizing charity and activist shows. The idea gained momentum after he served as musical director for Black Sabbath’s farewell event and realized that a larger platform could turn a familiar concert format into something more ambitious.

He says artists began reaching out after the deaths of Alex Preti and Renee Good in connection with ICE actions. For Morello, the issue suddenly felt close to home. He described the atmosphere as one in which aggressive tactics could appear outside anyone’s door, whether they were undocumented immigrants in East Los Angeles or well-known musicians.

The festival is intended as a collective response—a day when artists and audiences can stand together rather than watching events unfold from the sidelines.

A record for anyone who’s had enough

‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want’ may be rooted in protest, but Morello doesn’t present it as a gloomy exercise. He believes music can be joyful, unifying and transcendent while still functioning as a weapon for change.

That balance is what makes the album feel connected to his past without simply repeating it. The riffs are confrontational, the collaborations are purposeful and the political themes are impossible to miss. Yet beneath all the fury is a belief that music can still gather people in the same room and help them imagine something better.

The album is scheduled for release on September 25 through Mom + Pop Music. If Morello is right, it won’t sound like a quiet statement. It’ll sound like a warning siren with a hook you can’t shake.

Morello’s new solo era brings together protest, family, friendship and that wonderfully unruly belief that one guitar can still shake the walls. Will ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want’ become his next great rallying cry?

FAQ

• What is Tom Morello’s new album called?
  The album is titled ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want.’
• Who appears on the album with Tom Morello?
  The record features Kneecap, Serj Tankian, Beartooth and Morello’s son Roman Morello.
• What song did Morello record with Kneecap?
  Morello teamed up with Kneecap on ‘Unconquered,’ a song about resilience in the face of repression and state violence.
• How involved was Roman Morello in the project?
  Roman wrote riffs for five of the album’s 11 tracks, including ‘Adjourn It,’ and also inspired his father during the recording process.
• When will ‘Everyone Gets Everything They Want’ be released?
  The album is scheduled for release on September 25 through Mom + Pop Music.

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