100 Best Albums
- NOV 6, 1992
- 10 Songs
- Rage Against the Machine · 1992
- Evil Empire · 1996
- Renegades · 2000
- The Battle of Los Angeles · 1999
- The Battle of Los Angeles · 1999
- Rage Against the Machine · 1992
- The Battle of Los Angeles · 1999
- Rage Against the Machine · 1992
- Rage Against The Machine - XX (20th Anniversary Special Edition) · 1992
- Evil Empire · 1996
Essential Albums
- 100 Best Albums It’d be interesting to know just how many suburban kids learned about Che Guevara, or that the FBI targeted Martin Luther King for his opposition to the Vietnam War, from Rage Against the Machine. It isn’t that its politics are obscure. If anything, part of the reason the album remains so powerful is the way it captures the generalized angst kids feel toward parents (“F**k you, I won’t do what you tell me!”) while also pointing at broader forms of control regarding education (“Take the Power Back”), law enforcement (“Killing in the Name”), and the carceral system (“Settle for Nothing”). Like Nirvana’s Nevermind or even the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik, it reshaped ’90s rock and helped bring underground styles into the mainstream. It also plugs into a world beyond itself—the kind of music you can take to the gym but also build a syllabus around. Like the revolutionaries, MCs, and hard rock that inspired it, Rage Against the Machine exists in all caps. Its most lasting lyrics—“Some of those that work forces/Are the same that burn crosses” (“Killing in the Name”), “Anger is a gift” (“Freedom”)—have the instant memorability of a protest chant; its riffs democratize their anger, having been stripped of the flashy, technical stuff and restored to the Black blues they come from. The immediacy isn’t just a metaphor for their message; it’s a functional way to spread the word and put power into the hands of the people: Why bother learning “Stairway to Heaven” when you can just learn “Bombtrack”? It’s easy to see the ironies of a multi-platinum band advocating for radical left politics. But the music business has always found ways to monetize rebellion, from Elvis to John Lennon to the Sex Pistols. Rage Against the Machine transcends its contradictions by standing inside them and giving itself over anyway. Guitarist Tom Morello remembers a record executive hearing the band practice “Killing in the Name” as Zack de la Rocha screamed, “F**k you, I won’t do what you tell me!” 16 times. The exec sheepishly asked if this was the direction that they were going in. Yes, Morello said, it was. But just remember: He didn’t have to.
- 2021
Artist Playlists
- The group's mix of rap metal and political protest is as subtle as a burning flag.
- Their revolution was indeed televised.
- Their musical intensity and political activism had to come from somewhere.
- A flurry of rapid-fire riffs, guerrilla funk, and political grit.
Compilations
- 1998
More To Hear
- Where a moshpit, a riot, and a protest overlap.
- Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, and RATM broke the rules—and the mold.
- Strombo revels in Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled debut.
- Strombo explores Rage Against the Machine’s LP as it turns 25.
- Joe Walker joins Julie to talk about UK Represent artist Ray BLK. Plus, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater soundtrack.
- Classics from RATM, Stush, and more.
About Rage Against the Machine
When rap-metal pioneers Rage Against the Machine exploded onto the scene—with manic guitars and incendiary rhymes blazing—they threatened to be one of the most destructive bands to penetrate America’s pop consciousness. Founded in Los Angeles in 1991, the band created a scorching brew of punk, funk, hip-hop, and metal that tapped into Gen X’s angst and directed grunge’s moody introspection outward—putting fear into authority and fire into the hearts of kids desperate to seek the source of their malaise. After guitarist Tom Morello’s metal band Lock Up and vocalist Zack de la Rocha’s hardcore group Inside Out called it quits, they joined drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford and began concocting thrashing, politically fueled tracks, which soon caught the attention of Epic Records. They signed with the label before releasing their chart-topping 1992 self-titled debut, featuring the defiant track “Killing in the Name.” Drawing from the fiery polemics of hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy, de la Rocha spit out vitriol with a cocky charisma as Morello pushed his guitar to the limits, loading it with squealing and squalling effects that ricochet off Commerford and Wilk’s throbbing rhythms. The quartet continued this momentum over three more albums, with big alternative hits like “Bulls On Parade” from 1996’s Evil Empire, “Testify” from 1999’s The Battle of Los Angeles, and the band’s rousing version of Afrika Bambaataa’s “Renegades of Funk” from 2000’s covers album Renegades. But internal struggles would eventually undo the group, and they officially called it quits in 2000. Still, Rage’s message remained patently relevant—throughout George W. Bush’s presidency (the main impetus for the band’s 2007 reunion) and then under Trump’s America (which brought them together again in 2019).
- ORIGIN
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- FORMED
- August 1991
- GENRE
- Hard Rock