Rage Against the Machine
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Rage Against the Machine (also short RATM) were a rock group from California formed in 1990 and popular during the 1990s. They broke up in 2000 and the band members that played instruments formed the band Audioslave with Chris Cornell, that was singing for Soundgarden. The members of the band (they called themselves the “guilty parties” in their albums) were:
- Tim Commerford - bass; (he used different pseudonym on each album, they were: Timmy C., Tim Bob, Shimmering T, Y.tim.K and Tim.Com); now with Audioslave
- Tom Morello - guitar; now with Audioslave
- Zack de la Rocha - singing
- Brad Wilk - drums; now with Audioslave
[edit] Politics
Rage Against the Machine were well-known for their radical left-wing politics which combined aspects of socialism and anarchism. This opinion was expressed through their lyrics, album artwork and live shows. They made heavy use of the red star as a symbol of socialism and other symbols associated with revolutionary thinking. At their live performances, they had an American flag hanging upside-down and a picture of Che Guevara attached to their amplifiers. And at their last show on December 13, 2000, they had a very big red star hanging on the wall behind the stage as well as wearing small ones on their clothes. The cover of their first album “Rage Against the Machine” (published in 1992) showed the photo of Thích Quảng Ðức, a buddhist monk, who burnt himself to death in protest to the US-friendly Ngô Đình Diệm regime in Vietnam. The 1996 album is named “Evil Empire”, as many Western conservatives called the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The band also supported political activism as requesting the release of Mumia Abu-Jamal and Leonard Peltier, supporting the mexican Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) and playing many concerts for the benefit of political goals they wanted to achieve.
[edit] Music
The music of Rage Against the Machine had a very typical sound. The lyrics were spoken as in rap music and Tom Morello used a lot of special effects on his guitar sounds. Many people think he is one of the most innovative guitarists of today. Bassist Tim Commerford tried to keep a very “punchy” bass sound and together with Brad Wilk formed the strong rhythm section of Rage Against the Machine. RATM had great influence on the crossover music of the 1990s. The genres that influenced the music of Rage Against the Machine are mainly metal, hip-hop and funk.
