Rage Against the Machine 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 Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk. They draw inspiration from early heavy metal instrumentation, as well as rap acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Dutch crossover band Urban Dance Squad. Rage Against the Machine is best known for its leftist political views, which are expressed in many of its songs. As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide.
In 1992, the band released its self-titled debut album, which became a commercial and critical success, leading to a slot in the 1993 Lollapalooza festival, and is often cited to be one of the greatest and most influential rock albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The band did not release a follow-up record until 1996, with Evil Empire. The band's third album, The Battle of Los Angeles, followed in 1999. In 2003, the album was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. During their initial nine-year run, they became one of the most popular and influential bands in music history, according to music journalist Colin Devenish. They were also ranked No. 33 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. The band had a large influence on the nu metal genre which emerged during the mid to late 1990s.
In 2000, the band released the cover album Renegades. The same year, Rage Against the Machine disbanded after de la Rocha unexpectedly quit the group. De la Rocha started a low-key solo career in One Day as a Lion; the rest of the band formed the rock supergroup Audioslave with Chris Cornell, then-former front-man of Soundgarden, which disbanded in 2007. That April, Rage Against the Machine performed together for the first time in seven years at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. They have continued to perform at many live venues and festivals around the world since 2007, but currently do not have plans to record any new material.
Read more about Rage Against The Machine: Discography, Awards and Nominations
Famous quotes containing the words rage against the, rage against, rage and/or machine:
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“It is better to rage against the preventable suffering/because it leads to the suggestion of gorgeous alternatives/than to express our sadness.”
—Judith Malina (b. 1926)
“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage, against the dying of the light.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“Above all, however, the machine has no feelings, it feels no fear and no hope ... it operates according to the pure logic of probability. For this reason I assert that the robot perceives more accurately than man.”
—Max Frisch (1911–1991)