Chris Stapleton and Rage Against the Machine frontman Tom Morello have joined forces for a roots-rock epic, “The War Inside.” A sunset-tinged, animated music video, which follows a couple driving backwards in time across a disaster-ravaged American landscape, accompanies the song.
Displaying Stapleton’s singular vocals and Morello’s famous blend of heavy metal and hip-hop guitar sounds, “The War Inside” is a compelling anthem that illustrates the pain of dealing with isolation and mental health struggles. Listen and watch below:
“Chris Stapleton and I wrote “The War Inside” about the emotions and experiences we were both facing during the height of the pandemic,” Morello recently said of the song on Twitter. “Though we were all in lockdown and felt quite isolated, we knew the thesis ‘it’s really tough to win the war inside’ spoke to a universal feeling.”
“The War Inside” is available now, on Morello’s newest solo album, The Atlas Underground. The project also features appearances from Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Mike Posner and Bring Me The Horizon.
This song isn’t the first time that Stapleton has turned his talents to the world of hard rock. He recently released a cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters” for the tribute album The Metallica Blacklist, which also features covers of the legendary band’s songs from fellow country artists Mickey Guyton, Darius Rucker, Jason Isbell and Jon Pardi, as well as contributions from Miley Cyrus, Weezer, Phoebe Bridgers and many more.
More recently, Stapleton released “Joy,” a collaboration with famed rock guitarist Carlos Santana.
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