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Rage Against the Machine
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Rage Against the Machine was an American rock band, founded in 1991 in Los Angeles. The line-up consisted of the singer Zack de la Rocha, bass player Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk. After the break-up of his previous band, Morello was looking for a new group and brought in Wilk. The name comes from a song that De la Rocha had earlier written for his hardcore band Inside Out. The group signed with Epic Records and, by its own account, retained artistic control.
Music and breakthrough
The debut album Rage Against the Machine appeared in November 1992, with on its cover the photograph of a Vietnamese monk who burned himself to death in Saigon in 1963 in protest. The breakthrough came after performances at Lollapalooza in 1993. Evil Empire from 1996 and The Battle of Los Angeles from 1999 topped the Billboard 200. In 2000 came the covers album Renegades, after which the band split up. Reunions followed later, including at Coachella in 2007.
Influence
The music blends heavy metal, rap, punk rock and funk, with lyrics that oppose authority and capitalism. Morello plays guitar while De la Rocha raps his lyrics. The band influenced the nu metal of the late 1990s and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2023. It showed that protest music can also be heavy and danceable.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
Mentioned in other articles
- The Battle of Los Angeles Album
This third studio album was released on 2 November 1999 on Epic Records and was Rage Against the Machine's last album of original songs before the band split up in 2000.