''Rage Against the Machine'' is the debut studio album by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerfor ...

.The RMF Loves Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)

Real Music Forum
'' It was released on November 3, 1992 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The band released their first commercial demo tape of the same name 11 months prior to the album's release. The tape contained earlier recordings of 7 of the 10 songs found on this album. With politically themed,

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

lyrical content, the album artwork was notable for featuring a graphic photograph of

Thích Quảng Đức Thích Quảng Đức (; vi-hantu, , 1897 – 11 June 1963; born Lâm Văn Túc) was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection on 11 June 1963. Quảng Đức was protesting the pers ...

performing

self-immolation The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself o ...

. Coincidentally, the release date for ''Rage Against the Machine'' was on November 3, 1992, the same day as the

1992 United States presidential election The 1992 United States presidential election was the 52nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 1992. Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas defeated incumbent Republican President George H. W. Bush, independent ...

. ''Rage Against the Machine'' was a critical success upon release with several critics noting the album's politically motivated agenda and praising

Zack de la Rocha Zacharias Manuel de la Rocha (born January 12, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, and political activist. He is best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Rage Against the Machine. Through both Rage Agains ...

's strong vocal delivery. Rated number 24 on ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

''s list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time", the album peaked at number 1 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Heatseekers chart and number 45 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and has gone on to achieve triple platinum sales certification in the US. Multiple publications consider it one of the best albums of the 1990s.

Artwork and sleeve notes

The cover features a

crop A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponic ...

Malcolm Browne Malcolm Wilde Browne (April 17, 1931August 27, 2012) was an American journalist and photographer, best known for his award-winning photograph of the self-immolation of Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963. Early life and education Brown ...

' famous photograph of the

, a Vietnamese

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

monk, in

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in 1963. The monk was protesting President

Ngô Đình Diệm Ngô Đình Diệm ( or ; ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician. He was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955), and then served as the first president of South Vietnam (Republic of ...

's administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion. The photograph drew international attention and persuaded U.S. President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

to withdraw support for Diệm's government. In 1963,

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

correspondent Browne's coverage of the event earned the

World Press Photo of the Year The World Press Photo of the Year award is part of the World Press Photo Awards, organized by the Netherlands, Dutch foundation World Press Photo. Considered one of the most prestigious and coveted awards in photojournalism, The World Press Pho ...

award. The songs on ''Rage Against the Machine'' all feature political messages. Activists such as

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

Bobby Sands Robert Gerard Sands ( ga, Roibeárd Gearóid Ó Seachnasaigh; 9 March 1954 – 5 May 1981) was a member (and leader in the Maze prison) of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who died on hunger strike while imprisoned at HM Prison Maze ...

and

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

founder

Huey P. Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966. Under Newton's leadershi ...

are listed in the "Thanks For Inspiration" section. Also thanked were

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

and

Alec MacKaye Alec MacKaye (born 1966) is an American singer and musician best known as a member of the DC hardcore bands Untouchables, The Faith, and Ignition. In the mid-1990s Alec joined the band The Warmers as a vocalist and guitarist. ''Mondo James Dea ...

. The lyrics for each song were printed in the album booklet with the exception of those for "Killing in the Name", which were omitted; the booklet reads "2. KILLING IN THE NAME", skips the lyrics and continues with the next song. The statement "no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record" can be found at the end of the sleeve notes. Similar statements were made in the band's subsequent albums. The band also refer to themselves as "Guilty Parties" for each album.

Tour

The album was supported by the Rage Against the Machine Tour, which commenced on January 15, 1993 in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and concluded on December 31, 1993 in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Rage Against The Machine was accompanied by opening acts in certain concerts, such as hip hop groups

House of Pain House of Pain was an American hip-hop trio that released three albums in the 1990s. The group consisted of DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, and Everlast. The group's name is a reference to the H. G. Wells novel '' The Island of Dr. Moreau'', a refer ...

and

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

Critical reception

''Rage Against the Machine'' received critical acclaim. In a contemporary review, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' wrote that "what makes RATM more than just another bunch of prodigiously capable genre-benders is their total lack of pretension or contrivance ... the results burn with an undeniable conviction." '' Q'' magazine deemed it "a record of real attitude and energy", while ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' critic

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...

hailed it as "a striking, politically conscious debut" and de la Rocha "a bona fide star who combines on stage a

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

-like charisma and a

Chuck D. Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped cre ...

-style rap command -- and the music itself is as tough and relentless as his raps."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

was somewhat less impressed in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'', summing it up as "metal for rap-lovers—and opera-haters" while naming "Know Your Enemy" and "Wake Up" as highlights.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia wrote in a retrospective review, "it was the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal", he also praised the album's "meaningful rhymes and emotionally charged conviction" calling it "essential". In 2001, ''Q'' named ''Rage Against the Machine'' as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time. The album is included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on ''

'' magazine's list of

The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a recurring opinion survey and music ranking of the finest albums in history, compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and indust ...

, climbing to number 365 in the 2012 revision and shooting up to number 221 in the 2020 reboot of the list. It was ranked number 24 on the magazine's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time". In December 2008,

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reid Lowe (born 7 August 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence thro ...

included ''Rage Against the Machine'' as one of 28 albums in his 'Masterpieces' series. In October 2011, ''Rage Against the Machine'' was ranked number five on ''

Guitar World ''Guitar World'' is a monthly music magazine for guitarists – and fans of guitar-based music and trends – that has been published since July 1980. ''Guitar World'', the best-selling guitar magazine in the United States, contains original art ...

'' magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.

''XX'' 20th anniversary special edition

The band announced on October 9, 2012, via their Facebook page that they would be releasing a special 20th anniversary box set to commemorate the group's debut album. The box set contains never-before-released concert material, including the band's 2010 '' Live at Finsbury Park'' show and footage from early in their career, as well as a digitally remastered version of the album, B-sides and the original demo tape (on disc for the first time). The collection was released on November 27, 2012. The release features three distinct versions: *Deluxe box set featuring two CDs, two DVDs, one 12" 180gm vinyl LP, one 40 page booklet and two-sided poster *Special edition featuring two CDs and a bonus DVD featuring six tracks *Single compact disc (with three bonus tracks)

Track listing

''Anger Is a Gift'' bonus disc – released with the 1995 Australian CD re-release #"Darkness" – 3:40 #"Year of tha Boomerang" – 4:02 #"Freedom" (Remix) – 6:14 #"Take the Power Back" (Live) – 6:12 Bonus Maxi 12" from the "Limited Tour Edition" red vinyl 1993 European re-release included this second LP labeled sides C and D'' #C1 "Freedom" (Live) – 6:13 #C2 "Bombtrack" (From Mark Goodier's "Evening Session") – 4:08 #C3 "Bullet in the Head" (Remix) – 5:40 #D1 "Darkness of Greed" – 3:40 #D2 "Bullet in the Head" (Live) – 5:44 #D3 "Bombtrack" (Live) – 5:33 All songs from both bonuses are the versions from previously released singles and promos, except C1 which is from a different performance. No information is given on the 12" about the date nor venue.

Personnel

Rage Against the Machine *

– vocals, production, art direction *

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello ...

– guitar, production, art direction *

Tim Commerford Tim Commerford (born February 26, 1968) is an American musician, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist for rock band Rage Against the Machine, and supergroup (music), supergroups Audioslave and Prophets of Rage. Since 2013 and 2015, he ...

(credited as "Timmy C.") – bass, backing vocals, production, art direction *

Brad Wilk Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019 ...

– drums, percussion, production, art direction Additional musicians *

Maynard James Keenan Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...

– additional vocals on "Know Your Enemy" *

Stephen Perkins Stephen Andrew Perkins (September 13, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter. A drummer and percussionist, he currently plays with Jane's Addiction and Hellride. Following the dissolution of Jane's Addiction, Perkins continued to play ...

– additional percussion on "Know Your Enemy" Technical * Craig Doubet – assistant engineer * Stan Katayama – engineer * Nicky Lindeman – art direction *

Garth Richardson Garth "GGGarth" Richardson is a Canadian record producer and music engineer. He is the son of music producer Jack Richardson (Alice Cooper, The Guess Who, Badfinger, Poco), a pioneer of the music recording industry in the 1960s and 1970s. Gart ...

– production, engineering * Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer * Steve Sisco – mixing assistant * Andy Wallace – mixing *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering (1992 CD and vinyl) * Steve Hoffman – mastering (2016

Hybrid SACD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows multiple au ...

)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rage Against the Machine (Album) 1992 debut albums Rage Against the Machine albums Epic Records albums Albums produced by Garth Richardson Albums recorded at Sound City Studios