While Prophets of Rage does include three quarters of Rage Against the Machine, the absence of vocalist Zack de la Rocha is notable. When asked by Rolling Stone about de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford revealed that they do have the singer's blessing to push forward with their new project.

"I spoke to Zack and got his blessing, and that's really great," revealed Commerford. "We're a family and there's support across the board. I support him and everything he does, and vice versa. I've definitely been keeping him in the know."

He went on to add, "You're never going to replace Zack, and we aren't trying to do that. He's a unique artist and showman. It's going to take people that I know he looks up to and that he idolizes and that he's inspired by. We're going to plug them in and see what they can do with these songs, because at the end of the day it's all about the songs. The songs are needed right now, they really are. This is gonna be some cool s--t."

As for the reclusive vocalist's current status, drummer Brad Wilk revealed, "I haven't talked to him recently. I know he's making a record right now. I have nothing but love and respect for him. I hope he's doing well and creating the record that I think he's making."

While De La Rocha is not part of Prophets of Rage, the band has enlisted iconic rappers Chuck D. of Public Enemy and B-Real of Cypress Hill to handle vocal duties, while Public Enemy's DJ Lord is also adding his skills on the turntables as well.

At present, only one date is scheduled, but there is hope that more shows will follow. The band will make their live debut tonight (May 31) at the Whisky-a-Go-Go in West Hollywood, Calif.

Commerford reveals, "We're a group, so it's really great to hear Chuck D doing what Sen Dog might do in Cypress Hill and B-Real doing what Flavor Flav might do in Public Enemy, and to hear them both doing what Zack was doing in Rage. It's very exciting. I don't want to give away everything we're doing, but there's really interesting ways of doing Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and Rage and killing three birds with one stone. There's a lot of neat ways that you can play from the catalog." Meanwhile, Tom Morello adds that at least one new track has come out of the band, as a song called "The Party Is Over" is a from-scratch true collaboration. Stay tuned for more from Prophets of Rage.

See Where Rage Against the Machine's Albums Landed on the Top 90 Hard Rock + Metal Albums of the 1990s

10 Best Rage Against the Machine Songs

More From 106.3 The Buzz