Rage Against The Machine was founded in 1991 and consists of rapper Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. The band was one of the first to combine the genres of hard rock and rap into rapcore.
The band is known for their socialist lyrics and political actions both within and outside music. Most of De la Rocha’s lyrics deal with political issues. The band members frequently opposed capitalism and supported small socialist groups. Additionally, the music relies on the experimental guitar sounds of Tom Morello.
Both De La Rocha and Commerford had previously been active in the hardcore band Inside Out, while Morello was part of Lock Up. Wilk drummed in a cover band with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder.
The band name is based on a song by Zack’s old band Inside Out and stands for acting against the establishment. The musical mix of hardcore, metal and rap mainly stems from De La Rocha’s interest in old school hip hop and hardcore and Morello’s love of hard rock and punk.
From a self-produced demo cassette, the band managed to sell more than 5,000 copies on their own by playing a lot. During Rage Against The Machine’s performance at Lollapalooza II, the band was discovered by a talent scout from Epic and in 1992 Rage Against The Machine was released on the Epic label.
The best-known song is 'Killing In The Name', an attack on the establishment. "Down with the corrupt police, who in the United States in the 1990s repeatedly acted in a racist and extremely violent manner."
In the 2020 Top 2000, 'Killing in the Name' was at number 52.
Sunday Morning Classic: Rage Against The Machine
On 30 May 2021, Rage Against The Machine was on our turntable as a Sunday Morning Classic.
Politics and rock – always a sensitive subject. How do you say what you really want without risking censorship? And if you make the music too beautiful, does the message get lost? Rage Against The Machine is musically adventurous, funky to the core and amazing.
By combining the style of Public Enemy with some fine avant-garde metal forms, RATM remains a model of how to make white rap rock that crosses boundaries. First, the conviction with which singer Zach de la Rocha spits his lyrics. Second, the use of a guitar by Tom Morello as a counterpoint to the outrage over a ‘free’ world that harbours hypocrisy and injustice. It’s a heady brew that was never better than on this debut album.
Songs like Bullet In The Head and Killing In The Name use limited repeating phrases to wake you up while you can still groove to the fabulously driving riffs. Only when you look closely under the bonnet do you see the shortcomings. ‘America is corrupt and lies to its citizens’ and ‘the world is unfair if you are dispossessed’. This made RATM’s debut, of course, the ultimate teenage rebellion album to date.
But to dismiss it as mere clumsiness is ultimately unfair. In Tom Morello’s guitar work, we witnessed large-scale innovation. His style was a template for a generation and has hardly ever been improved upon. And in politicising a generation, however lame, RATM at least dealt a blow. In today’s worrying apolitical climate, it still seems bravely confrontational. Musically, it remains a milestone.
source: Jan Liebregts and NPO photo: Penner
