Tom Morello unveils his political ‘Final Fantasy’ anthem ‘Everything Burns’: “It’s a warning and a call to action”

Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello has teamed up with Beartooth vocalist Caleb Shomo for politically charged Final Fantasy 14 anthem ‘Everything Burns’.

Check out the searing guitar track below, alongside an exclusive interview with Morello, Shomo and the fantasy role-playing game’s composer Masayoshi Soken.

• READ MORE: How ‘Final Fantasy 14’ breaks all the rules of video game music

Announced earlier this month ‘Everything Burns’ will soundtrack the final instalment in the brutal Arcadion raid series, which sees Final Fantasy 14 players taking on a series of devilish challenges and monstrous bosses. The raid went live yesterday (December 16) as part of the 7.4 ‘Into The Mist’ update and today, the massive rock tune arrived on streaming services.

‘Everything Burns’ will also feature on Morello’s upcoming solo album, alongside Anti-ICE track ‘Pretend You Remember Me’ and ‘Soldier In The Army Of Love’, his collaboration with son Roman.

“I’m not trying to put songs in video games, I’m trying to make great songs that matter,”  Morello told NME via Zoom. “‘Everything Burns’ is a song that really matters at this moment in time. It’s both a warning and a call to action.”

“In a lot of ways, it’s a song about self-empowerment,” added Shomo. “Sometimes I can be so on fire that it feels like nothing can stop me. It’s also about how, it doesn’t matter who you are or how much money or power you have, you are also flammable – so be aware of the shit you’re doing to other people in this world.”

‘Everything Burns’ is something of a dream come true for Final Fantasy 14’s composer Soken. Earlier this year he told NME about his love of Rage Against The Machine and how the game, which features a mostly orchestral score, sometimes “demands” a huge rock riff. “This collaboration is like The Big Bang for me,” he explained. “The universe has exploded.”

The unexpected crossover happened after Morello was told Soken was a huge fan of his music. They were put in touch by a mutual friend and started talking about doing something together. However, due to the long lead time of game development, the team needed to hear the potential track within 48 hours. Luckily he was already in the studio working on solo music with producer Tyler Smyth and the pair started working on an instrumental, while Smyth reached out to childhood friend and Beartooth vocalist Caleb Shomo to sing on the track.

“It was 9am on a Tuesday morning and I was taking out the trash when I got the call,” said Shomo. He was quickly told about the project and how he would need to write, record, and produce the vocals the same day if he was up for being involved. “Beautiful, no problem,” was his response. “I hadn’t heard the music at that point but I knew it was going to be good. And shock, it was such a rad track. Getting the call about working with one of your childhood heroes for an opportunity this big, it’s one of the most magical moments I’ve had in my career. I’m beyond honoured to be a part of it and I’m still pinching myself that I have anything to do with this song.”

Check out the full interview below, where Shomo teases the next Beartooth album and Morello talks about his Bruce Springsteen-inspired new record.

Tom, what was it about Soken and Final Fantasy that made you want to get involved?

Morello: “I want to make it very clear that I’m not a gamer – but I am aware of the power and the potency that Final Fantasy has. I have friends who play it. My kids have friends who play it, so I’ve seen what it’s all about. There’s also something unique about the depth and the care of the curation of the music in it. It is artful, nuanced and is appreciated by different generations.”

You’ve said your previous solo album ‘The Atlas Underground Fire’ was about proving rock music has a future – is this Final Fantasy collab a continuation of that mission?

Morello: “Absolutely. There’ll be people playing Final Fantasy 14 who will be exposed to Rage, Audioslave, Prophets Of Rage and Beartooth for the very first time. There are also people who are fans of us and our music who will be forced to confront the Final Fantasy part of it as well.”

“My music has been in video games before – Grand Theft Auto, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Madden – and it’s a great way for different worlds to collide. When that’s worked well in the past, it’s been really, really potent and I have a great feeling about this.”

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You only had 48 hours to make ‘Everything Burns’ – was that stressful?

Morello: “It felt like a dice roll. We were either going to figure it out, or we weren’t. When I got the track back from Caleb [with his vocals on], I was absolutely blown away. Not only were the riffs huge and the groove was very compelling, but Caleb’s vocals were incredible. He managed to write a song that not only matched the majesty of Final Fantasy, but also matched the energy, challenges and potentially destructive nature of 2025. ‘Everything Burns’ really is a reflection of our current world. It’s a warning to both us and the powers that be. It was like capturing lightning in a bottle. The track literally wouldn’t have happened in any other circumstance.

Caleb, what does this collaboration mean to you?

Shomo: “It’s insane. One of the craziest things is hearing Tom talk about his involvement in video games over the years – and me knowing the importance of what that did to my life. I turned on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 as an impressionable 10-year-old and heard [Rage Against The Machine’s] ‘Guerrilla Radio’ for the very first time. From that moment on, there was no going back. By the time I was 14, I was in a band and touring full time. I’m still doing the same thing today.”

@tmorello. @BEARTOOTHband. Final Fantasy XIV.

Everything Burns

Song & video out tomorrow at 12AM ET.

Last chance to pre-save.

Pre-save here: https://t.co/QLIge9yHrR pic.twitter.com/TCpOIEXfCS

— Tom Morello (@tmorello) December 16, 2025

Masayoshi, you told us earlier this year how much you loved Rage Against The Machine. What was it like to finally work with Tom?

Soken: “The moment ‘Everything Burns’ arrived on my desk was such a surreal moment. The file was sitting in my inbox waiting to be played, but I couldn’t listen to it straight away because my hands were shaking so much.

“‘Everything Burns’ is such a great track. Even though I wanted to share it as soon as possible, I swore to myself that I would wait until we had the perfect place in the game for it to be used. And finally with the 7.4 update, we have the moment that will excite fans the most. I think it’s going to introduce a lot of players to real rock and roll music.”

How important is it that ‘Everything Burns’ has a political message?

Shomo: “I knew I was working with Tom Morello so I felt like I had to say something. The lyrics and the song’s melody were both influenced by the experiences I’ve had listening to his music. It was also inspired by seeing in real time how music can change the world. It can make people see things differently, even when you think it might be fucking impossible for somebody to see something a little bit different. You would be shocked at the power of music.”

Beartooth start 2026 on the road with Bad Omens and President, what else are you doing next year?

Shomo: “I’m deep in a new record right now. Hopefully I’ll turn that in soon and start curating the release. The vibe is like nothing you have ever heard out of Beartooth before but, man, it rocks!”

Tom, ‘Everything Burns’ will also feature on your new solo album – how’s that coming along?

Morello: “I’m touring India in a few days for the first time ever. Then I’m coming home, taking a few days off for the holidays and then I’ll hunker down to finish it. I’ve been writing a lot with my son Roman, the 14-year-old guitar prodigy, and there’s a lot of stuff coming in the new year.”

Is ‘Everything Burns’ a good example of what people can expect from the album?

Morello: “There are plenty of those huge Morellian riffs that can be heard on ‘Everything Burns’ and ‘Soldier In The Army Of Love’, but I’m also leaning into my Nightwatchman stuff too, that was inspired by Americana and Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Darkness On The Edge Of Town’.

“Over the past couple of years, I’ve toured the totality of my career – honouring Chris Cornell, Rage Against The Machine Fans and mining 22 albums worth of stuff. With this album, I wanted to make a record that was reflective of all of those [different styles] without being afraid of any of those influences. I think it’ll be really exciting to play life.”

 

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