Guitarist Tom Morello with Marseilles ties inducted into Metal Hall of Fame

Guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave and Prophets of Rage fame added another honor to his career Thursday when he was inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame.

Morello, who has Marseilles ties, recently was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his band Rage Against the Machine.

This week, Morello was honored at the seventh annual Metal Hall of Fame Gala at the Marriott Delta Garden Grove in Anaheim, California.

Morello said Friday on X, formerly Twitter, that “heavy metal music is the music that made me love MUSIC. Very honored to have been inducted into the Heavy Metal Hall of Fame.”

The guitarist performed on acoustic guitar Nov. 30 for students at Marseilles Elementary School when he made a special visit to establish a music program there through Music Will, a nonprofit group that has supported more than 6,000 schools with donated equipment.

That was Morello’s second performance in Marseilles in the past two years.

In April 2022, Morello performed in Marseilles for the first time as The Nightwatchman, which is his solo project.

His mother was born in Marseilles, and he spent summers visiting, playing Little League baseball there. The acoustic set commemorated the dedication of a memorial to a 1932 labor riot that cost Joliet’s Steve Sutton, a Croatian immigrant and father of four children, his life.

Morello has said he’s made several visits to Marseilles to keep ties with the community where he spent his childhood summers by bringing his children there to show them some old stomping grounds, putting flowers on relatives’ graves, and hanging out with friends and family for chicken dinners at the Illini Lounge.

On Thursday, Morello was the headline inductee along with Eddie Trunk (a special 40th anniversary induction), Mick Mars, Sebastian Bach, Tim “Ripper” Owens of KK’s Priest, Judas Priest and Iced Earth, and Carlos Cavazo of Quiet Riot.

“Tom Morello has influenced guitarists, musical peers and fans throughout the world,” Metal Hall of Fame President/CEO Pat Gesualdo said in a news release. “Numerous bands and artists in various genres have called upon Tom to play guitar on their projects, making him one of the most go-to musicians of all time.”