R.A.T.M Biographies

Rage Against The Machine was formed in 1992, by Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, and Tim Commerford. The sound of Rage is hard to distinguish, because it is a mixture of everything from rock, to rap, to punk, to funk, and others. The band mixes their unique sound with vocalist Zack De La Rocha's powerful lyrics, which express his anger toward politics and issues of the world. Zack De La Rocha sings about many of the unjust acts around us, from the slaughtering of the Chiapas (a Mexican culture who have been oppressed for some time,) to police brutality, to the death sentence of Mumia Abu-Jamal. All of this creates the awesome sound of Rage, and what they stand for. But the members of RATM are more than musicians; they take action, and support what they believe in, and what they present in their music. Zack De La Rocha has led many protests, raising awareness of police brutality and how to fight it, speaking on behalf of the oppressed Chiapas and Zapatistas, and supporting the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Tom Morello has led protests against sweatshops being run by the Guess Jeans company, and has argued continuously in support of Mumia Abu-Jamal. The name of the band was formally the name of a song written by Zack De La Rocha's previous band, Inside Out. It was going to be the name of Inside Out's second record, but the band broke up before it was created. When Zack met Tom Morello, they decided on that name for a band. It seemed like a name which fit the ideas they were working to get across. So what does it mean? Well, as Tom Morello puts it. "The machine can be anything from the police in the streets in Los Angeles who can tear motorists from their car and beat them to a pulp and get away with it, to the overall international state capitalist machinery that tries to make you just a mindless cog, and not to think critically and never confront the system, and just sort of "behave"and look forward to the next weekend and the next six pack of beer."