Rage Against the Machine

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
 
 
Rage Against the Machine  was an American rap metal band from Los Angeles, California.  Formed in 1991, the group consisted of rapper and 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 hip hop acts such as Afrika Bambaataa, Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys, and Dutch crossover band Urban Dance Squad.  Rage Against the Machine is well known for its leftist and revolutionary political views, which are expressed in many of its songs.  As of 2010, they have sold over 16 million records worldwide.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 
As what I think of as alternative rock began to run out of gas in the 1990’s, the next movement was sometimes called modern rock (though I hear few references to that term anymore), which featured bands and artists like KornLimp BizkitMarilyn MansonSlipknotPanteraand others.  A lot of these bands created a combustible mixture of heavy metal and rap music, and one in particular I really liked, Rage Against the Machine.  Besides casting the existing heavy metal scene as a bunch of wimps, they giddily sought to overturn every connection to earlier forms of rock music and, for a time at least, appeared to be poised to sweep aside the rock establishment altogether.  The movement seemed to me to rise and fall rather quickly, but frankly, those artists never really spoke to me except on a few stray tracks. 
 
(January 2013)
 
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Enthused by the reaction at South by Southwestand desiring a follow-up to their first album, Boyskout recruited two acclaimed record producers, David Schiffman – who had worked with Nine Inch NailsRed Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, and Jimmy Eat World – and Donny Newenhouse (Film Schoolthe Coachwhips). 

 

(January 2014)

 

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Alain Johannes and Natasha Shneider worked with Chris Cornell on his first solo album, Euphoria Morning (1999); they were also along on the band that toured to support the album.  This is the only album that Cornell made after Soundgarden broke up, and before he joined members of Rage Against the Machine in forming Audioslave

 

(April 2015/2)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021