Rage against the machine (band)
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Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an 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 from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. The band are known for their melding of heavy metal and rap music with punk rock and
funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...
influences, and their revolutionary socialist political views. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide. The band was nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2017, then again in 2018, 2019, and 2021, though the bids failed. Rage Against the Machine released its self-titled debut album in 1992 to commercial and critical success, leading to a slot in the 1993
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
festival; in 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on ''
Rolling Stone's Rolling is a type of motion that combines rotation (commonly, of an axially symmetric object) and translation of that object with respect to a surface (either one or the other moves), such that, if ideal conditions exist, the two are in contact ...
'' list of the
500 greatest albums of all time * Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time * NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is a 2013 special issue of British magazine '' NME'', available digitally or in newsstands on October 23. The li ...
. The band's next two albums, ''
Evil Empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They a ...
'' (1996) and ''
The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
'' (1999), were also successful; both albums topped the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. During their initial nine-year run, Rage Against the Machine became a popular and influential band, and had a large influence on the
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
genre which came to prominence during the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were also ranked No. 33 on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock''. In 2000, Rage Against the Machine released the cover album '' Renegades'' and disbanded after growing creative differences led to De la Rocha's departure. De la Rocha started a low-profile solo career, while the rest of the band formed the rock
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...
Audioslave with Chris Cornell, the former frontman of Soundgarden; Audioslave recorded three albums before disbanding in 2007. The same year, Rage Against the Machine announced a reunion and performed together for the first time in seven years at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
in April 2007. Within the next four years, minus a sabbatical in 2009, the band continued to perform at more live venues and festivals around the world before going on hiatus once again in 2011. In 2016, Morello, Commerford and Wilk formed a new band,
Prophets of Rage Prophets of Rage was an American rap rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), ...
, with
B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...
,
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 creat ...
, and DJ Lord; that band released one EP and one full-length studio album before disbanding in 2019. After an eight-year hiatus, Rage Against the Machine announced in November 2019 that they were reuniting for a world tour, which was initially scheduled to start in 2020, but was ultimately postponed to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


History


1991–1992: Early years

In 1991, following the break-up of guitarist Tom Morello's former band Lock Up, former Lock Up drummer
Jon Knox Jon Knox is an American session drummer who has been a member of the bands White Heart, Adam Again, Future User and is currently the drummer for The Union of Sinners and Saints. He is also a producer, beatmaker and composer. Background Knox ...
encouraged Tim Commerford and Zack de la Rocha to jam with Morello as he was looking to start a new group. Morello soon contacted Brad Wilk, who had unsuccessful auditions for both Lock Up and the band that would later become
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's lineup consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guita ...
. This lineup named themselves Rage Against the Machine, after a song de la Rocha had written for his former underground hardcore punk band
Inside Out Inside Out may refer to: *Backwards (disambiguation) or inverse Books * '' Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd'', by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason * ''Inside Out'', Christian book by Larry Crabb * ''Inside Out'', novel by Barry Eisler ...
(also to be the title of the unrecorded ''Inside Out'' full-length album).
Kent McClard Kent McClard is a record label owner and zine publisher from Goleta, California. Early life McClard grew up in a "broken home" and describes himself as a troublesome child. As a teenager, he discovered hardcore punk and both its freedom and speci ...
, with whom Inside Out were associated, had coined the phrase "rage against the machine" in a 1989 article in his zine ''
No Answers Kent McClard is a record label owner and zine publisher from Goleta, California. Early life McClard grew up in a "broken home" and describes himself as a troublesome child. As a teenager, he discovered hardcore punk and both its freedom and speci ...
''. The blueprint for the group's major-label debut album, demo tape '' Rage Against the Machine'', was laid on a twelve-song self-released cassette, the cover image of which featured newspaper clippings of the stockmarket section with a single match taped to the inlay card. Not all 12 songs made it onto the final album—two were eventually included as B-sides, while three others never saw an official release. Several record labels expressed interest, and the band eventually signed with
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 ...
. Morello said, "Epic agreed to everything we asked—and they've followed through ... We never saw a deologicalconflict as long as we maintained creative control."


1992–2000: Mainstream success

The band's debut album, '' Rage Against the Machine'', reached triple platinum status, driven by heavy radio play of the song " Killing in the Name", a heavy, driving track featuring only eight lines of lyrics. The "Fuck You" version, which contains 17 instances of the word ''
fuck ''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to aro ...
'', was once accidentally played on the BBC Radio 1 Top 40 singles show on February 21, 1993. The album's cover featured Malcolm Browne's
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning 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 persec ...
, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in
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in 1963 in protest of the murder of Buddhists by the U.S.-backed Prime Minister
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 regime. The album was produced by Garth Richardson. To promote the album, the band went on tour, playing at Lollapalooza 1993 and as support for Suicidal Tendencies in Europe. After their debut album, the band appeared on the soundtrack for the film '' Higher Learning'' with the song "
Year of tha Boomerang "Year of tha Boomerang" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It originally appeared in the film and on the soundtrack of ''Higher Learning'' in 1994 and was eventually included on their second album ''Evil Empire'' (1996). O ...
". An early version of "
Tire Me "Tire Me" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine from their album '' Evil Empire''. Although "Tire Me" never had a music video, was never released on any media formats, and had no radio airplay, the song won a Grammy Award in 199 ...
" also appeared in the movie. Subsequently, they re-recorded the song "Darkness" from their original demo for the soundtrack of ''
The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...
'', while "
No Shelter "No Shelter" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released in 1998 on the ''Godzilla'' soundtrack. It can also be found as a bonus track on the Australian and Japanese release of ''The Battle of Los Angeles'' in 1999. The song ...
" appeared on the '' Godzilla'' soundtrack. Despite rumors of a breakup for several years, Rage Against the Machine's second album, ''
Evil Empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They a ...
'', entered Billboard's Top 200 chart at number one in 1996, and subsequently rose to triple platinum status. The song "
Bulls on Parade "Bulls on Parade" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It is the second song from their second studio album, '' Evil Empire'' (1996). It was released as the album's first single to modern rock radio on February 9, 1996. Ba ...
" was performed on '' Saturday Night Live'' in April 1996. Their planned two-song performance was cut to one song when the band attempted to hang inverted American flags from their amplifiers ("a sign of distress or great danger"), a protest against having Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes as guest host on the program that night. In 1997, the band opened for U2 on their PopMart Tour, for which all of Rage's profits went to support organizations such as the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, Women Alive and the Zapatista Front for National Liberation. Rage subsequently began an abortive headlining U.S. tour with special guests Wu-Tang Clan. Police in several jurisdictions unsuccessfully attempted to have the concerts cancelled, citing amongst other reasons, the bands' "violent and anti-law enforcement philosophies". Wu-Tang Clan were eventually removed from the lineup and replaced with
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
when Wu-Tang Clan pulled a no show during a concert at Riverport. On the Japan leg of their tour promoting ''Evil Empire'', a
compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
composed of the band's
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
recordings titled '' Live & Rare'' was released by
Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the label ...
. A live video, also titled '' Rage Against the Machine'', was released later the same year. In 1999, Rage Against the Machine played at the Woodstock '99 concert. The following release, ''
The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
'' also debuted at number one in 1999, selling 450,000 copies in the first week and then going double-platinum. That same year, the song "
Wake Up Wake Up or wake up is to awake. It may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Wake Up'' (Anthony Neely album) or the title song, 2012 * ''Wake Up!'' (The Boo Radleys album), 1995 * ''Wake Up'' (BTS album) or the title song, 2014 * ''Wake Up!'' (Ha ...
" was featured on the soundtrack of the film '' The Matrix''. The track "
Calm Like a Bomb "Calm Like a Bomb" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine from their third album ''The Battle of Los Angeles''. Like their song "Tire Me" from the 1996 album '' Evil Empire'', “Calm Like a Bomb” never had a music video or wa ...
" was later featured in the film's sequel, 2003's '' The Matrix Reloaded''. In 2000, the band planned to support the
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
on the "Rhyme and Reason" tour; however, the tour was cancelled when Beastie Boys drummer Mike D suffered a serious injury. In 2003, ''The Battle of Los Angeles'' was ranked number 426 on ''Rolling Stone''s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.


2000–2006: Break-up and subsequent projects

On January 26, 2000, an altercation during filming of the video for " Sleep Now in the Fire", directed by
Michael Moore Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism. Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
, caused the doors of the New York Stock Exchange to be closed and the band to be escorted from the site by security after band members attempted to gain entry into the exchange. The video shoot had attracted several hundred people, according to a representative for the city's Deputy Commissioner for Public Information. New York City's film office does not allow weekday film shoots on Wall Street. Moore had permission to use the steps of
Federal Hall National Memorial Federal Hall is a historic building at 26 Wall Street in the Financial District of Manhattan in New York City. The current Greek Revival–style building, completed in 1842 as the Custom House, is operated by the National Park Service as a nati ...
but did not have a permit to shoot on the sidewalk or the street, nor did he have a loud-noise permit or the proper parking permits. "Michael basically gave us one directorial instruction, "No matter what happens, don't stop playing", Tom Morello recalls. When the band left the steps, police officers apprehended Moore and led him away. Moore yelled to the band, "Take the New York Stock Exchange!" In an interview with the '' Socialist Worker'', Morello said he and scores of others ran into the Stock Exchange. "About two hundred of us got through the first set of doors, but our charge was stopped when the Stock Exchange's titanium riot doors came crashing down." "For a few minutes, Rage Against the Machine was able to shut down American capitalism", Moore said. "An act that I am sure tens of thousands of downsized citizens would cheer". On September 7, 2000, the band attended the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards The 2000 MTV Video Music Awards (stylized as MTV Video Music Awards vma.00) aired live on September 7, 2000, honoring the best music videos from June 12, 1999, to June 9, 2000. The show was hosted by Marlon and Shawn Wayans at Radio City Music Ha ...
, and performed "
Testify In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...
". After the Best Rock Video award was given to
Limp Bizkit Limp Bizkit is an American rap rock band from Jacksonville, Florida. Its lineup consists of lead vocalist Fred Durst, drummer John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland, turntablist DJ Lethal and bassist Sam Rivers. The band's music is marked by D ...
, however, Commerford climbed onto the scaffolding of the set. Commerford and his bodyguard were sentenced to a night in jail and de la Rocha reportedly left the awards after the stunt. Morello recalled that Commerford relayed his plan to the rest of the band before the show, and that both de la Rocha and Morello advised him against it immediately after Bizkit was presented the award. On October 18, 2000, de la Rocha released a statement announcing his departure from the band. He said, "I feel that it is now necessary to leave Rage because our decision-making process has completely failed. It is no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal." "There was so much squabbling over everything", explained Morello, "and I mean ''everything''. We would even have fist fights over whether our T-shirts should be mauve or camouflaged! It was ridiculous. We were patently political, internally combustible. It was ugly for a long time".'' Q'', May 2003, p60 The band's next album, '' Renegades'', was a collection of covers of artists as diverse as
Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
,
EPMD EPMD is an American hip hop duo from Brentwood, New York. The duo's name is a concatenation of the members' names "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referring to its members: emcees Erick Sermon ("E" a.k.a. ...
, Minor Threat,
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 ...
, the MC5,
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenc ...
, the Rolling Stones, Eric B. & Rakim,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...
, the Stooges, and Bob Dylan. It achieved platinum status a month later. The following year saw the release of another live video, ''
The Battle of Mexico City ''The Battle of Mexico City'' is the second video release by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. The concert was recorded in Mexico City's MX Palacio de los Deportes in 1999 as part of their The Battle of Los Angeles Tour. The city wa ...
'', while 2003 brought the live album '' Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium'', an edited recording of the band's final concerts on September 12 and 13, 2000, at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles. It was accompanied by an expanded DVD release of the last show, which included a previously unreleased video for " Bombtrack". In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the controversial
2001 Clear Channel memorandum Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), the largest owner of radio stations in the United States, circulated an internal memorandum containing a list of songs that program directors felt were "l ...
contained a long list of what the memo termed "lyrically questionable" songs for the radio, uniquely listing ''all'' of Rage Against the Machine's songs. After the group's breakup, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford decided to stay together and find a new vocalist. "There was talk for a while of us becoming Ozzy Osbourne's backing band, and even Macy Gray's", said Morello. "We informed
them Them or THEM, a third-person plural accusative personal pronoun, may refer to: Books * ''Them'' (novel), 3rd volume (1969) in American Joyce Carol Oates' ''Wonderland Quartet'' * '' Them: Adventures with Extremists'', 2003 non-fiction by Welsh ...
that losing our singer was actually a blessing in disguise, and that we had bigger ambitions than being somebody's hired musicians." Music producer and friend Rick Rubin suggested that they play with Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. Along with Cornell, they formed Audioslave. The first Audioslave single, " Cochise", was released in early November 2002, and a self-titled debut album followed to mainly positive reviews. Compared to Rage Against the Machine, most of Audioslave's music was apolitical, although some songs touched on political issues. Their second album '' Out of Exile'' debuted at the number one position on the Billboard charts in 2005. Audioslave released its third album ''
Revelations Revelation, in religion and theology, is the act of revealing through communication with supernatural entities. Revelation(s) may also refer to: * Book of Revelation or simply Revelation, the last book of the New Testament * Revelation (Latter Da ...
'' on September 4, 2006, but an accompanying tour did not occur as Cornell and Morello were working on solo albums. After months of inactivity and rumors of a breakup, Audioslave disbanded on February 15, 2007, after Cornell announced he was leaving the band. Morello began his own solo career in 2003, playing political acoustic folk music at open-mic nights and various clubs under the alias
the Nightwatchman The Nightwatchman is the solo project of American musician Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club and former Audioslave). Morello began performing as the Nightwatchman in 2003 as an outlet for his political views whil ...
, which he formed as an outlet for his political views while playing apolitical music with Audioslave. He first participated in
Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...
's Tell Us the Truth tour with no plans to record, but later recorded a song for '' Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11'', "No One Left". In February 2007, he announced a solo album, entitled ''
One Man Revolution ''One Man Revolution'' is the 2007 debut album by The Nightwatchman, Tom Morello's acoustic alter ego. It was released on April 24, 2007. Track listing Credits *All songs performed by Tom Morello, with additional instruments by Brendan O'Brie ...
'', which was released in April 2007. Morello followed up his first studio album with ''The Fabled City'' which was released on September 30, 2008. During the latter days of his career as the Nightwatchman, Morello joined up with Boots Riley and formed the
rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...
group
Street Sweeper Social Club Street Sweeper Social Club is an American rap rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, California in 2006. The band primarily consists of guitarist Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and vocalist and emcee Boots Riley of The Coup. The band ...
, which released its debut self-titled album in June 2009. Meanwhile, de la Rocha had been working on a solo album collaboration with DJ Shadow, Company Flow, Roni Size and
The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...
'
Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...
, but dropped the project in favor of working with
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
' Trent Reznor. Recording was completed but the album has not been released. A collaboration between de la Rocha and DJ Shadow, the song "March of Death" was released for free online in 2003 in protest against the imminent invasion of Iraq, and the 2004 soundtrack ''Songs and Artists that Inspired Fahrenheit 9/11'' included one of the collaborations with Reznor, "
We Want It All ''We Want It All'' is one of only two songs the Rage Against the Machine vocalist Zack de la Rocha released while the band was disbanded. Out of the twenty or so tracks which De La Rocha and Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails collaborated on, this is ...
". In late 2005, de la Rocha was seen singing and playing the
jarana huasteca The jarana huasteca, jarana de son huasteco or jaranita is a string instrument. It is most often called simply jarana. It is a guitar-like chordophone with 5 strings, tuned in thirds (low to high): G, B, D, F# and A. It has a range similar ...
with Son Jarocho band Son de Madera on multiple occasions. Rage Against the Machine was ranked 33rd on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock'' list in 2005. Members of the band had been offered large sums of money to reunite for concerts and tours, and had turned the offers down. Rumors of tension between de la Rocha and the other former band members subsequently circulated, but Commerford said that he and de la Rocha saw each other often and went
surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...
together, while Morello said he and de la Rocha communicated by phone, and had met up at a September 15, 2005 protest in support of the South Central Farm.


2007–2008: First reunion and tours

Rumors that Rage Against the Machine could reunite at the
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
were circulating in mid-January 2007, and were confirmed on January 22. The band was confirmed to be headlining the final day of Coachella 2007. The reunion was described by Morello as primarily being a vehicle to voice the band's opposition to the "
right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
purgatory" the United States had "slid into" under the George W. Bush administration since Rage Against the Machine's dissolution. Though the performance was initially thought to be a one-off, this turned out not to be the case. On April 14, 2007, Morello and de la Rocha reunited onstage early to perform a brief acoustic set at a
Coalition of Immokalee Workers The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization based in Immokalee, Florida, which focuses on the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. Built on a foundation o ...
rally in downtown Chicago. Morello described the event as "very exciting for everybody in the room, myself included". This was followed by the scheduled Coachella performance on Sunday, April 29 where the band staged a much anticipated performance in front of an
EZLN The Zapatista Army of National Liberation (, EZLN), often referred to as the Zapatistas (Mexican ), is a far-left political and militant group that controls a substantial amount of territory in Chiapas, the southernmost state of Mexico. Since ...
backdrop to the largest crowds of the festival. Rage Against the Machine continued to tour in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Japan, and also played a series of shows in Europe in Summer 2008 including Rock am Ring and Rock im Park, Pinkpop Festival, T in the Park in Scotland, the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden, the Reading and Leeds Festivals in England and the Oxegen Festival in Ireland. The band also performed on August 2, 2008, in Chicago as one of the headliners (
Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
, Kanye West and
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
being the other three) for the 2008
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
Music Festival. When asked in May 2007 if the band was planning on writing a new album, Morello replied: Morello declined to comment about the possibility of a new album when interviewed by
MTV News MTV News is the news production division of MTV. The service is available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network. In February 2016, MTV Networks confirmed it would refresh the MTV News brand in 2016, to compete with the likes ...
in April 2008. In July 2008, it was revealed that de la Rocha had begun a new project called
One Day as a Lion One Day as a Lion was an alternative rock supergroup that was started in 2008 by Zack de la Rocha, the vocalist of Rage Against the Machine, and Jon Theodore, former drummer of The Mars Volta and current drummer of Queens of the Stone Age. The ...
with drummer Jon Theodore formerly of The Mars Volta, with an eponymous EP released on July 22, 2008. In August 2008, de la Rocha revealed his take on the possibility of new material: In August 2008, during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Rage headlined the free ''Tent State Music Festival to End the War''. The band was supported by Flobots,
State Radio State Radio is a Boston-based rock trio comprising singer and primary songwriter Chad Stokes Urmston (also a member of Dispatch), bassist Chuck Fay, and, formerly, drummer Michael Najarian. The band's songs focus on social and political issues ...
, Jello Biafra, and
Wayne Kramer Wayne Kramer may refer to: * Wayne Kramer (filmmaker) (born 1965), South African film writer and director * Wayne Kramer (guitarist) (born 1948), American guitarist {{Hndis, Kramer, Wayne ...
. Following the concert, the band, following uniformed veterans from Iraq Veterans Against the War, led the 8,000 attendees to the Denver Coliseum on a six-mile march to Invesco Field, host of the DNC. After a four-hour stand-off with police, Obama's campaign agreed to meet with members of Iraq Veterans Against the War and hear their demands. In September 2008, Rage performed at the Target Center in Minneapolis during the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
. The previous day, they attempted to play a surprise set at a free anti-RNC concert at the Minnesota Capitol in St. Paul, but were prevented from doing so by the police. Instead, de la Rocha and Morello rapped and sang through a megaphone. Later that evening, Morello and Boots Reilly joined up with Billy Bragg and Jim Walsh for a three-hour jam session at Pepitos Parkway theater in south Minneapolis. In December 2008, Tom Morello revealed that Rage Against the Machine shows in 2009 were a possibility, although plans for the band to record a new studio album were very unlikely. When asked by Billboard.com whether they planned to head to the studio in 2009, Morello stated: "we've had a wonderful year and a half of playing shows, and I don't see any reason to not play more shows. The thing is there's only so many hours in the musical day, and mine are very occupied right now". Morello elaborated that
the Nightwatchman The Nightwatchman is the solo project of American musician Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club and former Audioslave). Morello began performing as the Nightwatchman in 2003 as an outlet for his political views whil ...
is now "my principal musical focus, as I see it, for the remainder of my life. From the earliest days of playing open mic nights at coffee houses, it was apparent to me that this music was as important to me as any music I've ever been involved in. It really encapsulates everything I want to do as an artist." He repeated this point in an interview with the ''Los Angeles Times''. However, after the "Rage Factor" celebratory show in Finsbury Park on June 6, 2010, after the campaign to get "Killing in the Name" to the No. 1 spot at Christmas, Zack de la Rocha stated that it was a "genuine possibility". Stating that they may use the momentum from the campaign to get back into the studio and write a follow-up record to 2000's ''Renegades'' after 10 years. When talking to NME, Zack de la Rocha said: "I think it's a genuine possibility, We have to get our heads around what we're going to do towards the end of the year and finish up on some other projects and we'll take it from there."


2009–2015: UK "Killing in the Name" Christmas campaign, European tour, and L.A. Rising

In December 2009, a campaign was launched on Facebook by
Jon Morter Jonathan Morter (born 4 October 1974) is an English radio DJ, social media pioneer and campaigner. He helped launch various internet campaigns. He launched the Condescending Corporate Brand Page, a page that harshly ridicules corporate social ...
and his wife Tracy, in order to stop, most notably, ''The X Factor'' hits from becoming almost automatic Christmas number ones on the UK Singles Chart. It generated nationwide publicity and took the track " Killing in the Name" to the coveted Christmas number one slot in the UK Singles Chart, which had been dominated for four consecutive years from 2005 by winners from the popular TV show '' The X Factor''. Before the chart was announced on December 20, 2009, the Facebook group membership stood at over 950,000, and was acknowledged (and supported) by Tom Morello,
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
, Paul McCartney, Muse, Fightstar, '' NME'',
John Lydon John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
,
Bill Bailey Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...
, Lenny Henry, BBC Radio 1, Hadouken!,
the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboard player and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured dancer and singer Keith Flint and dancer and occasional l ...
,
Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...
,
BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
, and even the 2004 ''X Factor'' winner Steve Brookstein, amongst numerous others. On the morning of December 17, Rage Against the Machine played a slightly censored version of "Killing in the Name" live on
Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...
, but four repeats of 'Fuck you I won't do what you tell me' were aired before the song was pulled. During the interview before the song they reiterated their support for the campaign and their intentions to support charity with the proceeds. The campaign was ultimately successful, and "Killing in the Name" became the number-one single in the UK for Christmas 2009. Zack de la Rocha spoke to BBC One upon hearing the news, stating that: The band also set a new record, achieving the biggest download sales total in a first week ever in the UK charts. de la Rocha also promised the band would perform a free concert in the UK sometime in 2010 to celebrate the achievement. True to their word, the band announced that they would be performing a free concert at Finsbury Park, London, on June 6, 2010. The concert, dubbed "The Rage Factor", gave away all the tickets by free photo registration to prevent touting over the weekend of the February 13–14, followed by an online lottery on February 17. This proved to be popular, with many users facing connection issues. The tickets were all allocated by 13:30 that same day. After allowing ticket holders to vote for who they wanted to be the support acts for "The Rage Factor", it was announced that Gogol Bordello, Gallows and Roots Manuva would support Rage Against the Machine at the concert. In addition to the free gig at Finsbury Park, the band headlined European festivals in June 2010 including the
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
, England, Rock am Ring and Rock im Park in Germany and Rock in Rio Madrid in Spain. They also performed in Ireland on June 8 and the Netherlands on June 9. Zack de la Rocha had stated that it was a definite possibility that the band would record a new album, the first time since 2000's ''Renegades''. Morter confirmed this, stating the discussions he and the band had backstage before the Finsbury Park gig saying the band did write new material, but they had no motivation to release them until now. de la Rocha mentioned the very strong reaction from the
Download Festival Download Festival is a British-created rock festival created by Terrance Gough, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 201 ...
2010 audience as an incentive for releasing new material. In addition, the band returned to Los Angeles on July 23, 2010, for their first U.S. show in two years and their first hometown show in 10 years. The concert benefited Arizona organizations that are fighting the SB1070 immigration law. On the night of the show, a spokesperson announced to the crowd that ticket sales—all of which are non-profit to the bands—had raised $300,000. The band has been confirmed to do a short South American tour in October, performing at venues such as the SWU Festival in Brazil, the Maquinaria Festival in Chile, and Pepsi Music Festival in Argentina. It was the first time the band played in those countries. During an interview with the Chilean newspaper ''
La Tercera ''La Tercera'' ( es, The Third One), formerly known as ''La Tercera de la Hora'' ('the third of the hour'), is a daily newspaper published in Santiago, Chile and owned by Copesa. It is ''El Mercurio''s closest competitor. ''La Tercera'' is part o ...
'' in October 2010, de la Rocha allegedly confirmed that a new album was in the works, with a possibility of a 2011 release. De la Rocha is reported as saying, "We are all bigger and more mature and we do not fall into the problems we faced 10 or 15 years ago. This is different and we project a lot: we are working on a new album due out next year, perhaps summer for the northern hemisphere". However, in early May 2011, guitarist Tom Morello said that the band was not working on a new album, but would not rule out the possibility of future studio work. "The band is not writing songs, the band is not in the studio", Morello told ''The Pulse of Radio''. "We get along famously and we all, you know, intend to do more Rage Against the Machine stuff in the future, but beyond sort of working out a concert this year, there's nothing else on the schedule (for 2011)". The band created its own festival, the L.A. Rising. As Morello stated, the only Rage Against the Machine appearance for 2011 was a performance on July 30 at the L.A. Rising festival with
El Gran Silencio El Gran Silencio is a rock en español band from Monterrey, Mexico that blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato and Norteño. Their lyrics tend ...
, Immortal Technique, Lauryn Hill,
Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rooted in hardcor ...
and Muse. During an interview on July 30, 2011, Commerford seemingly contradicted Morello's comments, stating that new material was being written, and specific plans for the next two years were in place. In an October 2012 interview with TMZ, bassist Tim Commerford was asked if Rage Against the Machine was working on a new album. He simply responded, "maybe". Asked by TMZ again in November 2012 whether a new album was being worked on, Commerford replied "definitely maybe ... anything's possible". Later that month, however, Morello denied that they were working on new material, and stated that Rage Against the Machine had "no plans beyond" the reissue of their self-titled debut album. Morello said he would be open to recording new Rage Against the Machine material, but added that it was "not on the table right now". The band announced on October 9 via their Facebook page that they would be releasing a special 20th anniversary box set to commemorate the group's debut album. The full box set contains never-before-released concert material, including the band's 2010 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 band released 3-disc and single-disc versions. The collection was released on November 27. In an April 2014 interview with The Pulse of Radio, drummer Brad Wilk indicated that Rage Against the Machine's 2011 performance at L.A. Rising was their final show. In February 2015, Tim Commerford precised that uncertainty was typical of the band's functioning, speculating: "It could be tomorrow; it could be 10 years from now". On October 16, 2015, the 2010 gig in Finsbury Park was released as a DVD and Blu-ray called ''Live at Finsbury Park''.


2016–2019: Prophets of Rage and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

In May 2016, the band launched a countdown website, prophetsofrage.com, with a clock counting down to June 1. Accompanying the clock was an image of a broken slash through a circle with silhouettes of five people all extending their arms and clenched fists with the hashtag "#takethepowerback" underneath the timer. This led to speculation of the return of the band later in the year. However, a source close to Rage Against the Machine told '' Rolling Stone'' that the Prophets of Rage website had nothing do with the announcement of a "Rage-specific reunion", but added that "some of the members" of the band were working on a project that would include live shows. It was later confirmed that
Prophets of Rage Prophets of Rage was an American rap rock supergroup. Formed in 2016, the group consisted of three members of Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave (bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk), ...
were a new supergroup formed by Morello, Wilk and Commerford, with
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 creat ...
of Public Enemy and
B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...
of
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 ...
. The band toured through the remainder of 2016 and played the songs of the three bands in which the members of this group participated in before. Despite Morello, Wilk and Commerford's commitments to Prophets of Rage, the latter confirmed in a May 2016 interview with '' Rolling Stone'' that Rage Against the Machine had not split up, explaining, "We just do things our own way. Throughout our career, we never did what anyone wanted us to do. We never made the records people wanted us to make. We never played by the rules people wanted us to play by. And here we are, 25 years later, still a band. Clearly that means something. And if we did ever play or make new music or anything, it would be a very big deal. And there's a lot of bands that I've seen come along during that 25-year period that did everything the record companies and the powers-that-be wanted them to do, and they sold millions of records. But where are they now? They're gone." Morello added, "Right now ... the cold embers of Rage Against the Machine are now the burning fire of Prophets of Rage. Where Rage Against the Machine lives, is this summer in these songs that we are playing. And we have nothing but the greatest love and honor and respect for Zack de la Rocha, the brilliant lyricist of Rage Against the Machine, who is working on his own music, which I'm sure will be fantastic—he's a great artist in his own right. But where you're going to hear Rage Against the Machine is in Prophets of Rage." In May 2018, Wilk stated that "nothing would make him happier" than if the band was to reunite, but stated "It's just really a matter of getting us all on the same page". In November 2019,
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 creat ...
and
B-Real Louis Mario Freese (born June 2, 1970), known by his stage name B-Real, is an American rapper. Since 1991, he has been one of two lead rappers in the hip hop group Cypress Hill, along with Sen Dog. He has also been a part of the rap metal band ...
confirmed that Prophets of Rage had disbanded. Rage Against the Machine was nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility in 2017 as well as in 2018, 2019, and 2021, although the bids failed.


2019–present: Second reunion

On November 1, 2019, it was reported that Rage Against the Machine were reuniting for their first shows in nine years in the spring of 2020, including two appearances at that year's
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
. On November 25, 2019, an alleged leaked tour poster made its way online indicating the band would be going on a world tour throughout 2020. This was later debunked by Australian-based publication ''Wall of Sound'' who broke the news that a concert poster troll photoshopped and released it online as a prank. On February 10, 2020, Rage Against the Machine announced more worldwide dates for the 2020 reunion tour, now named the "Public Service Announcement" Tour. It was scheduled to run from March 26 through September 12, making it the band's first full-length world tour in 20 years, after they completed the promotional cycle for their third album ''
The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
''. The supporting act on all shows but Chicago would be rap duo
Run the Jewels Run the Jewels, also known by the initials RTJ, is an American hip hop super-duo composed of Brooklyn-based rapper and producer El-P and Atlanta-based rapper Killer Mike. They released their critically acclaimed self-titled debut studio album ...
. On March 12, 2020, the band postponed the first leg of the reunion tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic; this tour was eventually postponed to the summer of 2021. On May 1, 2020, the band announced that they had rescheduled the remaining dates of their reunion tour to 2021. They were also due to headline the Reading and Leeds Festivals, which would have been Rage Against the Machine's first UK appearance in ten years, but it was announced on the May 12, 2020 that the festival was cancelled. Despite having rescheduled all of their tour dates, Rage Against the Machine was initially still scheduled to play
Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called the Coachella Festival or simply Coachella) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. ...
, which had been postponed from April to October 2020 before it was officially cancelled that June. On April 8, 2021, it was announced that the "Public Service Announcement" Tour had once again been rescheduled to the spring and summer of 2022. By June 11, 2020, every Rage Against the Machine album had entered the top 30 of Apple Music's Rock Albums chart, and their self-titled debut album had entered the ''Billboard'' Top 200 at number 174. The resurgence of interest in the band's music and politics was widely attributed to renewed worldwide Black Lives Matter protests following
the murder "The Murder" is a cinematic score written and composed by Bernard Herrmann for the horror- thriller film '' Psycho'' (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The score, its second movement in particular, is well recognized as one of the most famous ...
of
George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd may have used a counterfeit twe ...
in Minneapolis by law enforcement. When asked in a September 2020 interview with '' Yahoo! Entertainment'' if Rage Against the Machine were going to release new material, Morello stated, with a laugh, "I promise you, if there is ever any Rage Against the Machine recording news, our representatives will reach out to you!" On July 9, 2022, Rage Against the Machine played their first concert in 11 years at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. On August 11, 2022, the band announced they had canceled the UK and European leg of their tour due to a leg injury de la Rocha sustained during a show, described by
Glen E. Friedman Glen Ellis Friedman (born March 3, 1962) is an American photographer and artist. He became known for his activities within rebellious skateboarding and music cultures. Photographing artists Fugazi, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor ...
as an
Achilles tendon rupture Achilles tendon rupture is when the Achilles tendon, at the back of the ankle, breaks. Symptoms include the sudden onset of sharp pain in the heel. A snapping sound may be heard as the tendon breaks and walking becomes difficult. Rupture typica ...
. On October 4, 2022, the band further announced they had canceled the remaining shows on the 2023 North American leg of the tour due to the severity of de la Rocha's injury.


Musical style and influences

Inspired from early heavy metal instrumentation, Rage Against the Machine has been influenced by a variety of music, including acts like Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Iron Maiden, Kiss, Black Sabbath/ Ozzy Osbourne, the Police,
Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark and Bob) and the Casales (Gerald and Bob), along with Alan Myers. The band had a ...
, Living Colour, Queen, the Brothers Johnson and Wayne Shorter. They are also said to be influenced by hip hop acts such as
Afrika Bambaataa Lance Taylor (born on April 17, 1957), also known as Afrika Bambaataa (), is an American DJ, rapper, and producer from the South Bronx, New York. He is notable for releasing a series of genre-defining electro tracks in the 1980s that influenc ...
,
Run-DMC Run-DMC (also spelled Run-D.M.C.) was an American hip hop group from Hollis, Queens, New York City, founded in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the most influential acts in the history of ...
, Public Enemy, and the
Beastie Boys Beastie Boys were an American rap rock group from New York City, formed in 1978. The group was composed of Mike D, Michael "Mike D" Diamond (vocals, drums), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (voca ...
, punk rock such as the Clash, Minor Threat,
the Teen Idles The Teen Idles were an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in September 1979. Consisting of teenagers Nathan Strejcek, Geordie Grindle, Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, they recorded two demo sessions and the 1980 ''Minor Disturb ...
, Bad Brains, the Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, the
Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
,
Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-tr ...
and
Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...
, and crossover bands like Suicidal Tendencies and Urban Dance Squad. Rage Against the Machine has been noted for its "fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk rock, hip hop, and
thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...
." Zack de la Rocha's lyrics and choruses are defined by a heavy use of sloganeering and repetition on songs like "
Bulls on Parade "Bulls on Parade" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It is the second song from their second studio album, '' Evil Empire'' (1996). It was released as the album's first single to modern rock radio on February 9, 1996. Ba ...
", "
Guerrilla Radio "Guerrilla Radio" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine and the lead single from their 1999 album ''The Battle of Los Angeles''. It became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 song, charting at #69. The band won the Grammy Award f ...
", "
Testify In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...
", and "
Down Rodeo "Down Rodeo" is a promotional single by American Rock music, rock band Rage Against the Machine which was initially sent out to various American radio stations. The song was intended as the third single from their ''Evil Empire (album), Evil Emp ...
". Guitarist Tom Morello, on the other hand, was considered the guitar player, but also the DJ in Rage. Rage Against the Machine has been described as rap metal,
rap rock Rap rock is a fusion genre that fuses vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock's most popular subgenres include rap metal and rapcore, which include heavy metal and hardcore punk-oriented influences, resp ...
, funk metal, fusion, alternative metal,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
,
nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
, heavy metal and alternative rock. Although the band has been described as nu metal, Rage Against the Machine is often instead considered a predecessor to nu metal.


Political views and activism

The members of Rage Against the Machine are well known for their leftist anti-authoritarian and
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. ...
political views, and almost all of the band's songs focus on these views. Key to the band's identity, Rage Against the Machine has voiced viewpoints highly critical of the domestic and foreign policies of current and previous U.S. governments. Throughout its existence, Rage Against the Machine and its individual members participated in political protests and other activism to advocate these beliefs. The band sees its music as a vehicle for social activism; De la Rocha explained, "I'm interested in spreading those ideas through art, because music has the power to cross borders, to break military sieges and to establish real dialogue."Wooldridge, Simon (February 2000),
Fight the Power
", '' Juice Magazine''. Retrieved October 6, 2007.
Morello said of wage slavery in America: Some critics have accused the group of
hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
for voicing commitment to leftist causes while being millionaires signed to
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 ...
, a
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of media conglomerate Sony Music. Infectious Grooves released a song called "Do What I Tell Ya!" which mocks lyrics from "Killing in the Name", accusing the band of being hypocrites. In response to such critiques, Morello stated: De la Rocha stated: For their 2020 reunion tour, the band announced all profits from their first three shows—in El Paso, Texas; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''. It may refer to: Places Australia * Glendale, New South Wales ** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre *Glendale, Queensland, ...
, Arizona—would be donated to immigrant rights organizations in the US. For subsequent shows, 10% of the base ticket price and 100% of proceeds after fees and base ticket price were reserved for charities local to each city they were performing in. On June 24, 2022, the band announced that they would donate $475,000 to reproductive rights groups in Wisconsin and Illinois after the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
's ruling to overturn ''
Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and st ...
''. During their July 9 concert in Wisconsin, the band further expressed opposition to the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'' using screened images of text including "Abort the Supreme Court" and " Forced birth in a country where Black birth-givers experience maternal mortality two to three times higher than that of white birth-givers. Forced birth in a country where gun violence is the number one cause of death among children and teenagers."


Members

* Zack de la Rocha – lead vocals * Tom Morello – guitars * Tim Commerford – bass, backing vocals * Brad Wilk – drums, percussion


Discography

Studio albums * '' Rage Against the Machine'' (1992) * ''
Evil Empire An evil empire is a speculative fiction trope in which a major antagonist of the story is a technologically advanced nation, typically ruled by an evil emperor or empress, that aims to control the world or conquer some specific group. They a ...
'' (1996) * ''
The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
'' (1999) * '' Renegades'' (2000)


Awards and nominations

Rage Against the Machine has won two
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
with six nominations altogether. During 2008, the band was also inducted into the '' Kerrang!'' "Hall of Fame". As well during 2010, Rage Against the Machine were bestowed with '' NMEs Heroes of the Year Award. The band has also received three nominations from the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
, but has yet to win an award. Rage Against The Machine have been nominated for the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
in 2018, 2019 and 2021. In 2021, the UK Official Charts Company announced that "Killing in the Name" had been named as the 'UK's Favourite Christmas Number 1 of All Time' in a poll commissioned to celebrate the 70th Official Christmas Number 1 race (and as a tie-in with the book ''The Official Christmas No. 1 Singles Book'' by Michael Mulligan). Grammy Awards , - , rowspan="2", , , "
Tire Me "Tire Me" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine from their album '' Evil Empire''. Although "Tire Me" never had a music video, was never released on any media formats, and had no radio airplay, the song won a Grammy Award in 199 ...
" , , Best Metal Performance , , , - , "
Bulls on Parade "Bulls on Parade" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine. It is the second song from their second studio album, '' Evil Empire'' (1996). It was released as the album's first single to modern rock radio on February 9, 1996. Ba ...
" , , rowspan= "2" , Best Hard Rock Performance , , , - , , , "
People of the Sun "People of the Sun" is the second single by American rock band Rage Against the Machine for their 1996 album '' Evil Empire''. Written in 1992, the song is about the Zapatista revolution. Lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha wrote the song after a vi ...
" , , , - , , , "
No Shelter "No Shelter" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine, released in 1998 on the ''Godzilla'' soundtrack. It can also be found as a bonus track on the Australian and Japanese release of ''The Battle of Los Angeles'' in 1999. The song ...
" , , Best Metal Performance , , , - , rowspan="2", , , "
Guerrilla Radio "Guerrilla Radio" is a song by American rock band Rage Against the Machine and the lead single from their 1999 album ''The Battle of Los Angeles''. It became the band's only Billboard Hot 100 song, charting at #69. The band won the Grammy Award f ...
" , , Best Hard Rock Performance , , , - , ''
The Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...
'' , , Best Rock Album , , , - , , , "
Renegades of Funk "Renegades of Funk" is a song written by Afrika Bambaataa, Arthur Baker, John Miller & John Robie and recorded by Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force. Released in 1983 as a single on the Tommy Boy label, it was also included on the 1986 album '' ...
" , , Best Hard Rock Performance , , MTV Video Music Awards , - , , , "Bulls on Parade" , , rowspan= "3" ,
Best Rock Video The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock was first given out in , one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. In its first year, the award was called Best Heavy Metal Video, and from 1990 to 1995, it was renamed Best Meta ...
, , , - , , , "People of the Sun" , , , - , , , " Sleep Now in the Fire" , , NME Awards , - , 2010 , , Rage Against the Machine , , Heroes of the Year , , Kerrang! Awards , - , ,
2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, , Rage Against the Machine , ,
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
, , Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards , - , rowspan="2", 2010 , , Rage Against the Machine , , Band of the Year , , , - , Christmas Number One and Free Concert , , Event of the Year , , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , - , , 2019 , , Rage Against the Machine , ,
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...
, ,


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * "Anti-Capitalist Critique and Travelling poetry in the Works of
Lorna Dee Cervantes Lorna Dee Cervantes (born August 6, 1954) is an American poet and activist, who is considered one of the greatest figures in Chicano poetry. She has been described by Alurista, as "probably the best Chicana poet active today." Early life Cer ...
and Rage Against the Machine.", Alexander, Donna Maria


External links

* * * {{Good article Epic Records artists Grammy Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Musical groups established in 1991 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Musical groups disestablished in 2011 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 Musical quartets NME Awards winners American alternative metal musical groups American funk metal musical groups Rap metal musical groups Rap rock groups Alternative rock groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Nu metal musical groups from California Revelation Records artists Socialism in the United States Anti-consumerist groups Political music groups 1991 establishments in California