The modern bands Tom Morello called successors to Rage Against the Machine
Rock and roll music has a long history of rebellion. From the earliest origins of the genre, with Elvis gyrating on national television, shock and rebellion have been a cornerstone of the rock world. During the 1990s, the emerging world of grunge, nu-metal, and rap-rock severely upped the ante when it came to sticking it to the man, and Rage Against the Machine was certainly among America’s most defiant voices. Armed with politically charged lyrics and the innovative guitar tones of Tom Morello, the group revolutionised American rock during their tenure.
Rage Against the Machine emerged during a particularly tumultuous time in American politics – granted, it wasn’t quite as tumultuous as current events – and their furious attacks on the political establishment perfectly soundtracked the era. From the timeless defiance of ‘Killing In The Name’, which took inspiration from the LA riots of 1992 sparked by police brutality and the beating of Rodney King to the namedropping of figures like Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Chief Sitting Bull on their cover of ‘Renegades of Funk’, Morello’s band always wore their heart on their sleeves.
Of course, politically-charged rock music was not a new thing during the 1990s. Rock music has always aimed to reflect social issues, and the advent of punk rock during the 1970s gave way to countless overtly political groups. The likes of Crass, The Clash, and Dead Kennedys regularly attacked the political establishment within their music, and Rage Against the Machine followed them in a similar kind of revolutionary spirit.
Their impact on American culture and rock music was colossal, and tracks like ‘Killing In The Name’ became anthems for the entirety of the 1990s. In fact, the band’s reputation grew so exponentially that it is easy to forget that Rage Against the Machine only ever released four albums, and one of those – Renegades – was a covers album. Despite their relatively short time together as a band, Rage had an undeniable effect on the future of American rock, inspiring countless other artists to follow in their footsteps.
In the years that followed Rage Against the Machine’s heyday, multiple groups sprang up adopting a similar rap-rock style pioneered by Morello and the gang. Many of the themes explored by the band back in the 1990s are still depressingly relevant to the current political system, so it is no shock that their defiant brand of politically charged rock remains similarly relevant, particularly in recent years.
Back in 2022, Morello revealed some of the up-and-coming groups that are carrying on the torch of Rage Against the Machine. Talking to Metal Hammer, he shared, “There’s a great artist called Grandson, who I recently collaborated with on my recent Atlas Underground record.” Grandson – the stage name of Jordan Edward Benjamin – has been releasing alternative and rap rock since back in 2018 and once covered Rage’s 1999 track ‘Maria’, which likely brought him onto Morello’s radar.
“There’s another artist called K Flay, who I also worked with,” Morello continued, highlighting some of the most promising artists carrying on Rage’s legacy. “Nandi Bushell, the drummer prodigy, who worked with my son Roman on the song ‘The Children Will Rise Up’. I have to put the pair of them on that list as well,” he added. “The under-12 age group are really flying the flag!”
So, although Rage Against the Machine has not released an album for 25 years, their impact on the landscape of American rock and politically charged music has certainly not dissipated. It is reflective of the band’s pioneering spirit and timeless appeal, as well as the increasingly worrying political landscape of the United States, that audiences are still yearning for the kind of sounds belted out by Tom Morello and Rage Against the Machine.
