8. Rage Against the Machine, Rage Against the Machine

What was Rage Against the Machine? Rap metal? Maybe. Funk? There’s some of that. Protest music? Maybe it was all of those, but the record took a lot of people by surprise when it was unleashed in late ’92. In the early ‘90s, the closest rap and metal had come together was Anthrax and Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” (and to a lesser extent, Anthrax’s jokey “I’m the Man”). Yet there was nothing jokey about Rage’s album. The album had huge grooves, thanks to the super tight rhythm section of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford. And Tom Morello was able to wring amazing sounds out of his guitar that remain unparalleled to this day. And they were way more political than any band had been for a long time. While the band released three more albums, they weren’t able to top the intensity of their debut. And while you might be able to point the finger at Rage as one of the bands that inspired the rap-metal movement that happened towards the end of the ‘90s, you can’t hate them for that, as their debut album is near flawless.