Rage Against The Machine started in 1991 working for their own music. The group consisted of front man Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brian Wilk and Tim Bob.

Until 2007, the band produced music that was seen by the public eye as being highly political and non-conformist. RATM always had an edgy, high energy sound that motivated as well as empowered their listeners.

In 1992, the band joined with Epic Records, a division of Sony, after recording their own 12 track cassette that included the single "Bullet in the Head".

This was later re-worked and served as their first release under the new label. This album was their self-titled album and thus called Rage Against the Machine.

Guitarist Tom Morello, a Harvard graduate, has roots based in the political system. His father was part of the Mau insurrection which freed Kenya from British colonial rule. His Uncle then became the first President of Kenya.

His mother formed the Parents For Rock and Rap which has constant struggles with the PMRC (Parents' Music Resource Center)to strike down unnecessary censorship in the media.

The PFRR also informs people about the source of problems and not "surface-level" censorship. They promote free speech and expression to enrich the minds of millions and divert away from shady "scapegoat" politics.

Morello performed for RATM as their lead guitarist, influencing the sound of their music with his choppy, eccentric tones and hard hitting heavy riffs. A challenging feat that leaves many other guitarists eating his dust in his wake. Before playing for RATM, he was played with band Lock Up.

Zack de la Rocha and Tim Bob (aka, Tim Commerford) were child hood friends and were the front-man and the bassist respectively. Rocha is the son of Political Artist Beto and was in a few bands before RATM. These included Headstance, Inside Out and Farside. Drummer Brian Wilk, also played with Pearl Jam front-man Eddie Vedder.

Collectively, the band formed a powerful tool that spoke out against the inhumanities facing the world on a day to day basis. Their head thumping rhythms backed by soul shaking vocals was enough for any hard rock fan to suffer from head banging neck injuries.

On their debut album, the band released hard hitting tracks such as "Killing in the Name", "Know your Enemy", "Fistful of Steel", "Bombtrack" and "Township Rebellion" and "Freedom". This compelling piece of musical art got the band out there and into the lime-light as a hard driven political band.

With this album they brought the desensitized main-steam media scene to a halt with their powerful stage performances and hard hitting message of political injustices and non-conformism.

1996, saw the release of the controversial Evil Empire album. Which was their most popular album which every outspoken teenager in American owned. It was with this album that they spread their message of anti-corporate greed and tales of retribution. Singles included the hits, "People of the Sun", "Bulls on Parade", "Vietnow", "Revolver", "Tire Me", "Down Rodeo", "Without a Face", "Roll Right" and "Year of the Boomerang".

Each one of these pieces differed from the popular music formula of the time. Instead of stories of down-trotted tales of angst this album stood out on store shelves for it's use of empowerment to the people. A healthy show of force against the corruption of the political scene and corporate censorship.

The band also won a Grammy this year for "Tire Me" for "Best Metal Performance" at the 39th annual Grammy Awards. After the release of this album they toured on Lollapalooza teamed up with hip-hop group Wu-Tang on some of their tours.

The group also performed a death row benefit concert for inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal in 1999 that was highly controversial. They also performed their video "No Shelter" which was featured on the Godzilla Soundtrack which dealt with the Abu-Jamal issue.

In 1999 the band releases The Battle of Los Angeles and is their final release performed as a band. Songs from this album include "Testify", "Guerrilla Radio", "Sleep Now in the Fire", "Born of a Broken Man" and "War Within a Breath".

The album debuted as #1 and went double platinum within a year. "Guerrilla Radio" went on to win the Grammy in 2000 for "Best Hard Rock" performance. The song was also featured in the video game Tony Hawk's: Pro Skater which sold millions of copies.

As 2000 rolled around the band began to suffer from a communication breakdown and PR problems. Bassist Commerford was arrested during the MTV Music Awards Show when he climbed a 15ft tower and began rocking back and forth during Limp Bizkits acceptance speech. 

It was also during this time that Zack de la Rocha announced his departure from the group to seek out a solo career. The band, however, releases two more albums.

One being Renegades ,which is a cover album produced by Rick Rubin, which features close to a dozen cover songs by other musical artists. Some of these artists include Devo, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Cypress Hill, Bruce Springsteen,  EPMD and Minor Threat. The other album released is their Live Album from the Grand Olympic Auditorium which was released in both DVD and CD form.

The rest of the band, while surprised by de la Rocha's decision decides to continue their musical careers forming up with ex-Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell. The resulting band, Audioslave, has since released their Self-titled Album which features "I am the Highway" "Show Me How To Live" and "Cochise" in 2002.

Then in 2005 released their 2nd album Out of Exile Which features the tracks "Out of Exile" and "Be Yourself". It was also in this year that they released their Live in Cuba DVD which featured cover tracks from both RATM and Soundgarden as well as Audioslave hits. Some choice tracks included are "Outshined", "Black Hole Sun", "Cochise", "Sleep Now In the Fire" "I am the Highway" and "Spoonman".

In 2008, the group released their 3rd album entitled Revelations which includes the hits "Revelations" and "Original Fire". As of this time, this is their most recent album.

As of now there is still no word on Zack de la Rocha's solo album and there were rumors last year of the reuniting of Rage Against the Machine. These rumors were unfounded and purely speculative. If and when the album is released, rest assured, we will keep you informed.  Morello has also been playing in The Nightwatchman as his own side project, so check out his album if you get the chance.