人们总是认为一支受大众欢迎的，主流的乐队是不可能持有极为左派的政治观点的。然而来自洛杉矶的说唱/鞭击重金属乐队Rage Against The Machine（“暴力反抗体制”）乐队却同时做到了这两点，在他们的世界里金钱和激进的政治观点根本就没有关系。
Rage Against The Machine（以下简称RATM）乐队于1991年成立于洛杉矶，成员来自于美国各地：主唱是加州本地的一个名叫扎克·德·拉·罗查（Zack de la Rocha）的警察，之前他就发起成立过一支名为Inside Out的朋克乐队；留着长发的吉他手汤姆·莫雷罗（Tom Morello）来自著名的哈福大学，他来自一个偏僻的乡下；贝斯手蒂姆·科姆佛德（Tim Commerford）和莫雷罗来自同一个乡下；鼓手布莱德·维尔克（Brad Wilk）这来自俄勒冈州的波特兰。
RATM乐队一开始就将说唱、重金属、朋克、以及舞曲巧妙的组合在一起，又将极端的舞台力量与那些现代音乐禁忌的政治观点用坦率的歌词表达，RATM乐队的影响力也遍布整个南加利福尼亚，共售出了超过五千份的卡式磁带。 在与Epic唱片签约之后，RATM乐队于1992发行了他们的首张同名专辑《Rage Against The Machine》。初期他们被视为一支说唱乐队，RATM乐队与House Of Pain以及Cypress Hill乐队一起进行了大规模的巡回演出，这次活动一举将Rage Against The Machine的歌曲推入了BillBoard排行的前五十位。1994年初歌曲“Freedom”的MTV在电视上频繁播放，这一切使得这张专辑的获得了白金的销量，这也确立了RATM乐队九十年代中期著名另类摇滚乐队的地位，也确定了乐队以说唱为核心的风格。
在经过了精心的准备和漫长的等待之后，他们的第二张专辑《Evil Empire》面世了，在一场名为“Saturday Night Live”的演唱会中，他们将美国国旗倒插在扩音器顶上。《Evil Empire》很快就成为专辑榜的首位并完成了白金级的销量并产生了榜首歌曲“Bulls on Parade”。尽管RATM乐队的这张专辑最终卖出了数百万的销量，可是RATM始终坚持自己的社会主义政治立场，他们用自己的歌声支持墨西哥的反政府武装恰帕斯国民解放军，并且反对美国政府关押左派的非洲籍的新闻工作者Mumia Abu-Jamal以及美国白人左派领袖Leonard Peltier。在1996年他们和信仰天主教的U2乐队在俄勒冈州举行演唱会，籍以反对一些制服生产商利用工人们的制服进行广告宣传。RATM乐队用自己的行动证明了可以利用财富和合理的公民基本权利来部分的改善社会而不一定要进行一次大规模的政治运动。
在1999年11月，RATM乐队发行了自己的第三张专辑《The Battle Of Los Angeles》。之后罗查突然宣布离去使得乐队的前景显出几分黯淡。尽管有这样的不确定因素，他们的又一张专辑《Renegades》还是于2000年秋季发行了。
Rage Against the Machine earned acclaim from disenfranchised fans (and not insignificant derision from critics) for their bombastic, fiercely polemical music, which brewed sloganeering leftist rants against corporate America, cultural imperialism, and government oppression into a Molotov cocktail of punk, hip-hop, and thrash. Rage formed in Los Angeles in the early '90s out of the wreckage of a number of local groups: vocalist Zack de la Rocha (the son of Chicano political artist Beto) emerged from the bands Headstance, Farside, and Inside Out; guitarist Tom Morello (the nephew of Jomo Kenyatta, the first Kenyan president) originated in Lock Up; and drummer Brad Wilk played with future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder. Rounded out by bassist Tim Bob (aka Tim C., born Tim Commerford), a childhood friend of de la Rocha's, Rage debuted in 1992 with a self-released, self-titled 12-song cassette featuring the song "Bullet in the Head," which became a hit when reissued as a single later in the year.
The tape won the band a deal with Epic, and their leap to the majors did not go unnoticed by detractors, who questioned the revolutionary integrity of Rage Against the Machine's decision to align itself with the label's parent company, media behemoth Sony. Undeterred, the quartet emerged in late 1992 with their eponymous official debut, which scored the hits "Killing in the Name" and "Bombtrack." After touring with Lollapalooza and declaring their support of groups like FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting), Rock for Choice, and Refuse & Resist, Rage spent a reportedly tumultuous four years working on their follow-up; despite rumors of a breakup, they returned in 1996 with Evil Empire, which entered the U.S. album charts at number one and scored a hit single with "Bulls on Parade." During 1997, the group joined forces with hip-hop supergroup the Wu-Tang Clan for a summer tour and remained active in support of various leftist political causes, including a controversial 1999 benefit concert for death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal. The Battle of Los Angeles followed later in 1999, also debuting at number one and going double platinum by the following summer. In early 2000, de la Rocha announced plans for a solo project, and the band performed an incendiary show outside the Democratic National Convention in August. The following month, bassist Commerford was arrested for disorderly conduct at MTV's Video Music Awards following his bizarre disruption of a Limp Bizkit acceptance speech, in which he climbed to the top of a 15-foot set piece and rocked back and forth.
Plans for a live album were announced shortly thereafter, but in October, de la Rocha abruptly announced his departure from the band, citing breakdowns in communication and group decision-making. Surprised but not angry, the remainder of Rage announced plans to continue with a new vocalist, while de la Rocha re-focused on his solo album, which was slated to include collaborations with acclaimed hip-hop artists including DJ Shadow and El-P of Company Flow. December 2000 saw the release of de la Rocha's final studio effort with the band, the Rick Rubin-produced Renegades; it featured nearly a dozen covers of hip-hop, rock, and punk artists like EPMD, Bruce Springsteen, Devo, the Rolling Stones, the MC5, and more. By 2001, Morello, Wilk, and Commerford had formed Audioslave with former Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, and the group released an eponymous album by the end of 2002. With a de la Rocha solo album still not announced, Epic finally released the long-promised concert album Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on CD and DVD in time for Christmas 2003.