Rage Against the Machine (album)

Rage Against the Machine is the debut studio album by American rock band Rage Against the Machine.[5] It was released on November 3, 1992, by Epic Records. The band released their first commercial demo tape of the same name 11 months prior to the album's release. The tape contained earlier recordings of 7 of the 10 songs featured on the album.

This article is about the band's debut studio album. For their demo album of the same name, see Rage Against the Machine (demo album).

Rage Against the Machine
A black-and-white image of a bald man being burned alive. The album/band name is shown in the bottom in lowercase letters with a black background.
Studio album by
Rage Against the Machine
ReleasedNovember 3, 1992
RecordedApril–May 1992
StudioSound City (Van Nuys, California)
Genre
Length52:55
LabelEpic
Producer
Rage Against the Machine chronology
Rage Against the Machine
(1991)		 Rage Against the Machine
(1992)		 Evil Empire
(1996)
Singles from Rage Against the Machine
  1. "Killing in the Name"
    Released: November 2, 1992
  2. "Bullet in the Head"
    Released: December 29, 1992
  3. "Bombtrack"
    Released: June 20, 1993
  4. "Freedom"
    Released: August 23, 1994

With politically themed, revolutionary lyrical content, the album artwork was notable for featuring a graphic photograph of Thích Quảng Đức performing self-immolation. Coincidentally, the release date for Rage Against the Machine was on November 3, 1992, the same day as the 1992 United States presidential election.

Rage Against the Machine was a critical success upon release with several critics noting the album's politically motivated agenda and praising Zack de la Rocha's strong vocal delivery. Rated number 24 on Rolling Stone's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time", the album peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Heatseekers chart and number 45 on the US Billboard 200 and has gone on to achieve a triple platinum sales certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US. Multiple publications have ranked it as one of the best albums of the 1990s.[6]

Artwork and sleeve notes
The self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức in June 1963. The photograph was used as inspiration for the album's cover art.

The cover features a crop of Malcolm Browne's famous photograph of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, in Saigon in 1963. The monk was protesting President Ngô Đình Diệm's administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion. The photograph drew international attention and persuaded U.S. President John F. Kennedy to withdraw support for Diệm's government. In 1963, Associated Press correspondent Browne's coverage of the event earned the World Press Photo of the Year award.

The songs on Rage Against the Machine all feature political messages. Activists such as Provisional IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton are listed in the "Thanks For Inspiration" section. Also thanked were Ian and Alec MacKaye.[7]

The lyrics for each song were printed in the album booklet with the exception of those for "Killing in the Name", which were omitted; the booklet reads "2. KILLING IN THE NAME", skips the lyrics and continues with the next song.

The statement "no samples, keyboards or synthesizers used in the making of this record" can be found at the end of the sleeve notes. Similar statements were made in the band's subsequent albums. The band also refer to themselves as "Guilty Parties" for each album.

Tour

The album was supported by the Rage Against the Machine Tour, which commenced on January 15, 1993, in Chicago and concluded on December 31, 1993, in Detroit.[8] Rage Against The Machine was accompanied by opening acts in certain concerts, such as hip hop groups House of Pain and Cypress Hill.[9]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic87/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
Mojo[14]
NME7/10[15]
Pitchfork9.1/10[16]
Record Collector[17]
Rolling Stone[2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[18]
Select4/5[19]

Rage Against the Machine received critical acclaim. In a contemporary review, NME wrote that "what makes RATM more than just another bunch of prodigiously capable genre-benders is their total lack of pretension or contrivance ... the results burn with an undeniable conviction."[15] Q magazine deemed it "a record of real attitude and energy",[20] while Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn hailed it as "a striking, politically conscious debut" and de la Rocha "a bona fide star who combines on stage a Bob Marley-like charisma and a Chuck D.-style rap command -- and the music itself is as tough and relentless as his raps."[13]

Robert Christgau was somewhat less impressed in The Village Voice, summing it up as "metal for rap-lovers—and opera-haters" while naming "Know Your Enemy" and "Wake Up" as highlights.[21] AllMusic reviewer Eduardo Rivadavia wrote in a retrospective review, "it was the first album to successfully merge the seemingly disparate sounds of rap and heavy metal", he also praised the album's "meaningful rhymes and emotionally charged conviction" calling it "essential".[11]

In 2001, Q named Rage Against the Machine as one of the 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time. The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[22] climbing to number 365 in the 2012 revision and shooting up to number 221 in the 2020 reboot of the list.[23][24] It was ranked number 24 on the magazine's list of "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[25]

In December 2008, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe included Rage Against the Machine as one of 28 albums in his 'Masterpieces' series.[5] In October 2011, Rage Against the Machine was ranked number five on Guitar World magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.[26]

XX 20th anniversary special edition

The band announced on October 9, 2012, via their Facebook page that they would be releasing a special 20th anniversary box set to commemorate the group's debut album. The box set contains never-before-released concert material, including the band's 2010 Live at Finsbury Park show and footage from early in their career, as well as a digitally remastered version of the album, B-sides and the original demo tape (on disc for the first time).[27][28] The collection was released on November 27, 2012.[28]

The release features three distinct versions:

  • Deluxe box set featuring two CDs, two DVDs, one 12-inch 180gm vinyl LP, one 40 page booklet and two-sided poster
  • Special edition featuring two CDs and a bonus DVD featuring six tracks
  • Single compact disc (with three bonus tracks)

Track listing

All tracks are written by Rage Against the Machine (Tim Commerford, Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello, Brad Wilk)

Original track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Bombtrack"4:02
2."Killing in the Name"5:14
3."Take the Power Back"5:36
4."Settle for Nothing"4:49
5."Bullet in the Head"5:08
6."Know Your Enemy" (featuring Maynard James Keenan)4:57
7."Wake Up"6:06
8."Fistful of Steel"5:32
9."Township Rebellion"5:22
10."Freedom"6:06
Total length:52:55
XX CD 1 – Bonus tracks (B-sides)
No.TitleLength
11."Bombtrack" (live; taken from the "Bombtrack" single)5:56
12."Bullet in the Head" (live; taken from the "Bullet in the Head" single)5:44
13."Take the Power Back" (live; taken from the "Freedom" single)6:09
Total length:70:45
XX CD 2 – "The Original Demos"
No.TitleLength
1."Bombtrack"4:05
2."Take the Power Back"5:40
3."Bullet in the Head"5:09
4."Darkness of Greed"3:40
5."Clear the Lane"3:48
6."Township Rebellion"4:19
7."Know Your Enemy"4:19
8."Mindset's a Threat"3:56
9."Killing in the Name"6:28
10."Auto Logic"4:07
11."The Narrows"4:35
12."Freedom"5:40
Total length:55:51
XX DVD 1 – The Battle of Britain at Finsbury Park, London, England (June 6, 2010)
No.TitleLength
1."Intro"2:37
2."Testify"4:35
3."Bombtrack"4:24
4."People of the Sun"2:36
5."Know Your Enemy"5:17
6."Bulls on Parade"4:51
7."Township Rebellion"5:44
8."Bullet in the Head"10:32
9."White Riot" (The Clash cover)2:06
10."Guerrilla Radio"3:45
11."Sleep Now in the Fire"5:26
12."Freedom"8:53
13."Killing in the Name"6:32
14."End Credits"2:52
XX DVD 1 – Music videos
No.TitleLength
1."Killing in the Name - 1992"5:15
2."Bullet in the Head - 1993"4:51
3."Bombtrack - 1993"4:06
4."Freedom - 1993"6:01
5."Bulls on Parade - 1996"3:56
6."People of the Sun - 1996"3:00
7."No Shelter - 1998"4:15
8."Guerrilla Radio - 1999"3:43
9."Sleep Now in the Fire - 2000" (First Official Commercial Release)3:55
10."Testify - 2000" (First Official Commercial Release)3:44
11."Renegades of Funk - 2000" (First Official Commercial Release)3:54
12."How I Could Just Kill a Man - 2000" (Previously Unreleased)4:24
XX DVD 1 – Live material from 1997 video compilation
No.TitleLength
1."The Ghost of Tom Joad"5:13
2."Vietnow" (Irvine Meadows, CA – 1997)4:49
3."People of the Sun"2:38
4."Bulls on Parade"3:50
5."Bullet in the Head"5:48
6."Zapata's Blood" (Rock Am Ring Festival, Germany – 1996)1:45
7."Know Your Enemy"5:20
8."Bombtrack"4:09
9."Tire Me" (Reading Festival – 1996)2:55
10."Killing in the Name" (Pink Pop Festival – 1994)6:21
XX DVD 2 – First public performance at California State University, Northridge (October 23, 1991)
No.TitleLength
1."Killing in the Name"2:20
2."Take the Power Back"6:34
3."Autologic"4:14
4."Bullet in the Head"5:48
5."Hit the Deck"4:27
6."Township Rebellion"5:33
7."Darkness of Greed"3:59
8."Clear the Lane"4:19
9."Clampdown"3:48
10."Know Your Enemy"5:03
11."Freedom"5:45
XX DVD 2
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom" (Pink Pop – 1994)6:40
2."Take the Power Back" (Vic Theatre – 1993)6:05
3."Fistful of Steel" (JC Dobbs – 1993)5:22
4."Bombtrack" (Soundstage performance – 1992)3:58
5."Wake Up" (Halfway House – 1992)5:35
6."Settle for Nothing" (Castaic – 1992)4:35
7."Clear the Lane" (San Luis Obispo – 1992)3:38
8."Untitled" (CWNN – 1992)5:10
9."Darkness of Greed" (Zed's Records – 1992)3:32
10."Wake Up" (Nomads – 1992)6:18

Anger Is a Gift bonus disc – released with the 1995 Australian CD re-release

  1. "Darkness" – 3:40
  2. "Year of tha Boomerang" – 4:02
  3. "Freedom" (Remix) – 6:14
  4. "Take the Power Back" (Live) – 6:12

Bonus Maxi 12-inch from the "Limited Tour Edition" red vinyl 1993 European re-release included this second LP labeled sides C and D

  1. C1 "Freedom" (Live) – 6:13
  2. C2 "Bombtrack" (From Mark Goodier's "Evening Session") – 4:08
  3. C3 "Bullet in the Head" (Remix) – 5:40
  4. D1 "Darkness of Greed" – 3:40
  5. D2 "Bullet in the Head" (Live) – 5:44
  6. D3 "Bombtrack" (Live) – 5:33

All songs from both bonuses are the versions from previously released singles and promos, except C1 which is from a different performance. No information is given on the 12-inch about the date nor venue.

Personnel

Rage Against the Machine

  • Zack de la Rocha – vocals, production, art direction
  • Tom Morello – guitar, production, art direction
  • Tim Commerford (credited as "Timmy C.") – bass, backing vocals, production, art direction
  • Brad Wilk – drums, percussion, production, art direction

Additional musicians

Technical

  • Craig Doubet – assistant engineer
  • Stan Katayama – engineer
  • Nicky Lindeman – art direction
  • Garth Richardson – production, engineering
  • Jeff Sheehan – assistant engineer
  • Steve Sisco – mixing assistant
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • Bob Ludwig – mastering (1992 CD and vinyl)
  • Steve Hoffman – mastering (2016 Hybrid SACD)

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[46] Gold 25,000*
Belgium (BEA)[47] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[48] Platinum 100,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[49] 5× Platinum 100,000‡
France (SNEP)[50] Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[51] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[52]
sales since 2009 		Platinum 50,000‡
Japan (RIAJ)[53] Gold 100,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[54] Platinum 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[55] Platinum 15,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[56] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] 3× Platinum 900,000‡
United States (RIAA)[58] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
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