Rage Against The Machine is:
Zack De La Rocha - Vocals
Tom Morello - Guitar
Tim Commerford - Bass
Brad Wilk - Drums

In 1992, the four men who make up Rage Against The Machine met somewhere in California. They derived their name from an album recordedby Zack’s first band, Inside Out. The band all shared similar opinions about how fucked up the government was. They all heavily opposed sweatshops and discrimination, and they were all active in the political scene. Rage’s first gig was in a friend’s living room in Huntington Beach. The response they got from the gig prompted them to record a 12 song demo tape. They sold 5000 copies of the tape at shows. Rage became big in the LA club scene.

Rage made an appearance at Lollapalooza II and also did a European tour with Suicidal Tendencies. An agent from Epic Records caught a Rage show and immediately signed the band. They released their self-titled debut in October of 1992. They scored radio hits with "Killing In The Name" and "Bullet In The Head".

At Lollapalooza ’93, the band came out on stage completely naked and duct-taped at the mouths. Across their chests the letters "PMRC" were painted. The PMRC, of course, is the company that pushed to have parental advisory stickers put on CDs. This was a turbulent time in the music business and of course, the politically charged Rage was in the middle of it.

After that incident, nothing was heard from the band until 1996. What was heard then pleased many people. It was called "Bulls On Parade", the first single off of "Evil Empire". Their sophomore album reached #1 on the Billboard charts, backed by "Bulls" and "People Of The Sun". Over the next few months, the band opened for U2 on their Pop Mart Tour, won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance, and launched their own tour with Wu Tang Clan and Atari Teenage Riot.

Once again, a good two years passed and there was no word from Rage. Once again, however, they made some noise at a big concert. At Woodstock ’99, the band not only played a mind-blowing set right after Limp Bizkit and right before Metallica, but they also lit an American flag on fire, which turned many heads. A few months later, Rage played a concert in Mexico called "The Battle of Mexico City". The event was televised and considered one of Rage’s best shows ever.

That fall, their third album, "The Battle of Los Angeles", came out, sporting another huge single, "Guerilla Radio". The band continued their musical war on oppression straight through the new millennium. Their latest single, "Sleep Now In The Fire", is burning up radio and MTV, and the new album is still high on the charts.

UPDATE 10/18/00: Rage Against The Machine has BROKEN UP people. Zack De La Rocha announced that he was leaving the band cuz he was pissed at where they were going. He thinks that the political ideals of the guys have fallen through. Zack cited Tim's trouble-making at the 2000 VMAs as the last straw. Personally, I think it blows... Rage was awesome. They're supposedly going ahead with the release of their 4th album towards the end of the year, however, so at least there's that...

1992 - Rage Against The Machine
--- Their self-titled debut hit it big with rock fans. The song "Killing In The Name Of" blew up all over the radio, as did the follow up "Bullet In The Head". Contrary to popular belief, the Euro version is exactly the same as the US version. No hidden tracks, slick.

1996 - Evil Empire
--- One of my favorite albums of all time. Rage really honed all of their skills on this one. It reached #1 on Billboard thanks to the hit single "Bulls On Parade".

1996 - Live And Rare
--- Until early 2000, finding this was fucking hard, but now you can pick it up anywhere (if you want to drop $35). It has live takes on some old songs, as well as B-Sides off of Rage singles.

1999 - The Battle Of Los Angeles
--- Rage has definitely developed their sound with this one. They’re album to rock as hard as the used to, but they can also slow it down and still have a powerful message. Being rock stars doesn’t hurt, either (wink wink).

2000 - Renegades
--- Their final studio release is a covers collection that kicks ass. Really wierd stuff on here, like the Rolling Stones' "Street Fightin Man", and covers of MC5, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and Minor Threat.

Rage re-released their debut album in 1995, packaging it along with the "Anger Is A Gift" bonus CD. It includes an ultra rare original version of "Darkness of Greed", along with a remix of "Freedom".

The band put out a 10" "People Of The Sun" EP in 1997, which featured the title track along with live versions of "Zapata’s Blood" and "Without A Face". This one’s pretty rare.

RATM released a "Bombtrack" single in 1994, which is pretty common. However, they had a special "Pink Pop" edition, which is now out of print. The "PP" edition included two versions of "Bombtrack", along with a live take. It also had a "Bullet In The Head" remix and some other live songs.

Rage’s original demo tape from 1991 has about 5000 copies floating around. It includes old versions of "Bombtrack", "Bullet In The Head", "Killing In The Name", and "Know Your Enemy".

Rage sent "Red" and "White" vinyls to SoCal radio stations in 1992. They both featured songs off of the S/T album, and are both extremely rare.

Rage’s performance at the Reading Festival in 1996 was recorded and turned into the "In The Zone - Westwood One" 2 CD set. Live versions of S/T and Empire songs. Rare in the US.