"Calm like a Bomb" is a song by American rapcore band Rage Against the Machine, off their third album The Battle of Los Angeles. It is notable as a display of guitarist Tom Morello's creative use of a whammy pedal. The song was featured in the end credits of 2003 movie The Matrix Reloaded. Like many of RATM's songs, the song's lyrics discuss social inequalities. The song also features a reference to Emiliano Zapata. Tim Commerford uses a combination of a home-made overdrive pedal and the Jim Dunlop 105Q Bass Wah pedal on his bass throughout the song. In Rolling Stone magazine's feature article this past year on the new "Guitar Heroes," a section was printed about Tom Morello, and Calm Like a Bomb was cited as the prime example of his skill and fame on the guitar. He has occasionally referred to the extremely high whammy-pedal effects used in songs such as this as "pterodactyl sounds."
