Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine was a rap metal/rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1991. The band’s continual members are vocalist Zack De La Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello (who also records as a solo artist under the name “The Nightwatchman”), bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Rage Against the Machine are noted for their blend of punk rock, hip hop, heavy metal and funk as well as their Socialist lyrics and imagery (including use of the former-USSR Red Army white-outlined star emblem, as well as images of Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, and the red EZLN star). Rage Against the Machine drew their inspiration from early metal instrumentation, as well as rap acts such as Public Enemy and Afrika Bambaataa. The group’s music is based primarily on de la Rocha’s rhyming styles and Morello’s unorthodox guitar techniques.

Rage Against the Machine released their debut album Rage Against the Machine in 1992, which became a commercial success. Following a slot on the 1993 Lollapalooza, the band did not release a follow-up record until Evil Empire in 1996. The band’s third album The Battle of Los Angeles was released in 1999.

The band released their fourth studio album Renegades in 2000 and broke up shortly afterwards. The band have also released a live album, Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium. Zack De La Rocha started a low-key solo career; the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell. In April 2007 Rage Against the Machine performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

The band also performed on August 2, 2008, in Chicago as one of the headlines for the 2008 Lollapalooza Music Festival and on September 4, 2008 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

The band recently reached number one in the UK singles chart on 20 December 2009 with the song ‘Killing in the Name’, to take the ‘Christmas Number One’ accolade. They are the first to do so by download only. The song stormed to number one, 17 years after its initial release due to a successful grassroots Facebook campaign aimed to prevent a 6th consecutive number one by a winner of TV talent contest ‘The X Factor’. De la Rocha stated that the band were to donate a majority of the proceeds from the campaign to the charity Shelter.

After an eight-year hiatus, Rage Against the Machine announced in November 2019 that they were reuniting for a tour in 2020.