Rage Against the Machine Music Videos, Pictures and Photos including Born Of A Broken Man, Guerrilla Radio, No Shelter, Sleep Now In The Fire, Vietnow Music Videos on Roxwel

Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine - one of the most notable alternative rock acts of the 1990’s - was formed in Long Beach, California in 1991 by Tom Morello, a Harvard-educated social activist who moved to California to play guitar, and Zack de la Rocha, the lyrically talented son of a famous Mexican-American painter. The motley pair met at a coffee shop where Zack had been reciting free-verse poetry; impressed, Tom invited Zack to be the rapper/vocalist for his next band, a project with drummer Brad Wilk. Zack introduced the duo to Tim Commerford, a childhood friend, who eventually joined the band as bassist.

The group was united not just by their musical interests, but also by similar social and political ideals. Rage Against the Machine’s far-left ideology - echoed in their name, which can be interpreted as a metaphor for social unrest - was both an endless source of popularity and controversy for the band, who became famous for their exploits on and off the stage. After independently releasing a demo in late 1991, Rage Against the Machine signed a contract with Epic Records, who released the band’s self titled debut album a year later in 1992. Rage Against the Machine was a hit right off the bat, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and producing four singles, including "Bombtrack" and "Killing in the Name". Though its initial sales were modest in comparison to some of the band’s later efforts, Rage Against the Machine would eventually go on to sell over 3 million copies in the United States alone.

After touring aggressively over the next four years (playing at a number of national tours and festivals, including Lollapalooza), Rage released their second album Evil Empire to great fanfare in 1996. The group’s infectious juxtaposition of radical political rhetoric alongside eclectic metal, hip-hop, and funk sensibilities once again proved successful; Evil Empire debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, catapulted to double-platinum status by singles like "Bulls on Parade" and "Vietnow". As Rage’s popularity increased, so did its notoriety; during the Evil Empire era the band had difficulty touring due to police pressure, and was booted off of an episode of Saturday Night Live after the band tried to hang American flags upside down during their performance.