History Music / RageAgainstTheMachine

* RapMetal[=/=]RapRock[=/=]PunkRap: TropeCodifier alongside Music/{{Anthrax}}.

In 2016, the band (again sans Zack) joined forces with Music/PublicEnemy's Chuck D and B-Real from Music/CypressHill to form the supergroup Prophets of Rage[[note]]Unlike the case of Audioslave, however, Prophets of Rage did play RATM songs, as well as some songs by Cypress Hill and Public Enemy[[/note]]. Its run would conclude three years later similarly to Audioslave, as it announced its disbandment very shortly after RATM confirmed that it would reunite once more for a brief tour in the spring of 2020. They returned to the stage in 2022, having postponed this tour due to [[UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic COVID-19]].

* CoolOldLady: Tom Morello's mother, Mary. She's basically the anti-Tipper Gore, starting an organization called "Parents for Rock and Rap". One of the band's live [=DVDs=] even features her introducing her son's band as "the best band in the fucking universe"!

->''"Some of those that work forces''\\
''Are the same that burn crosses''\\
''Some of those that burn crosses''\\
''Are the same that hold office"''
-->-- "Killing in the Name", from their self-titled debut[[note]]The last line is an ad-lib Zack occasionally sings live instead of repeating the first two lines as he does in the album version.[[/note]]

They have also played at large protests and had several cases of controversial moments, including playing on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (in an episode hosted by buttoned-down Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes), with two American flags displayed upside down until stagehands came and removed them, and burning the American flag onstage while playing "Killing in the Name" at the infamous Woodstock '99.

** "Wake Up" also has a spoken-word bridge, where Zack explains the FBI's COINTELPRO conspiracy. The words dissolve into nigh-incomprehensibility before the guitars suddenly turn up again and Zack starts screaming "WAKE UP!!!" 8 times.

* AbusiveParents: Zack de la Rocha, after his father's mental breakdown. The latter is referenced in "Born of a Broken Man" off of ''The Battle of Los Angeles''.

They have also played at large protests, and have several cases of controversial moments, including playing on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (in an episode hosted by buttoned-down Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes), with two American flags displayed upside down until stagehands came and pulled them down, and burning the American flag onstage while playing "Killing in the Name" at the infamous Woodstock '99.

* CoverVersion: An entire album of them. ''Renegades'' is a collection of covers. They have also covered [[Music/{{NWA}} "Fuck tha Police"]], [[Music/PublicEnemy "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos"]] and [[Music/BruceSpringsteen "The Ghost of Tom Joad"]] (the latter of which is in ''Renegades'', and for which, incidentally, Morello guested when Springsteen re-recorded it in ''High Hopes''). At live shows they sometimes play "White Riot" by Music/TheClash.

The band is (in)famous for their ''extremely'' left-wing politics (identifying most closely with anarcho-syndicalism) and the politically-charged lyrics in their songs, and the liner notes usually include contact information to various organizations the band supports.

They have also played at large protests, and have several cases of controversial moments: when playing on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (in an episode hosted by buttoned-down Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes), they displayed two American flags upside down until stagehands came and pulled them down. Also, when playing "Killing in the Name" at the infamous Woodstock '99, they burned the American flag onstage.

After releasing three albums during TheNineties, the band went their separate ways in 2000 over CreativeDifferences that members believed were turning them into the exact type of unstable system that they would criticize, with the CoverAlbum ''Renegades'' releasing a few months after the announcement.

They have also played at large protests, and have several cases of controversial moments: when playing on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' (in an episode hosted by buttoned-down Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes), they displayed the American flag upside down, until stagehands came and pulled them down. Also, when playing "Killing in the Name" at the infamous Woodstock '99, they burned the American flag onstage.

In 2016, the band (again sans Zack) joined forces with Music/PublicEnemy's Chuck D and B-Real from Music/CypressHill to form the supergroup Prophets of Rage[[note]]Unlike the case of Audioslave, however, Prophets of Rage did play RATM songs, as well as some Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and original songs.[[/note]]. Its run would conclude three years later similarly to Audioslave, as it announced its disbandment very shortly after RATM confirmed that it would reunite once more for a brief tour in the spring of 2020. They returned to the stage in 2022, having postponed this tour due to COVID-19.

* ''[[SelfTitledAlbum Rage Against The Machine]]'' (1992)

* AtomicFBomb: De la Rocha's iconic "'''''MOTHERFUCKER!!!'''''" at the end of "Killing in the Name"

* RefrainFromAssuming: It's "Bulls on Parade", not "Pocket Full of Shells".

* AudienceParticipationSong: Arguably "Killing in the Name".

%%* AuthorTract: The liner notes. Zack de la Rocha's lyrics.

** "No Shelter" was used on the ''Godzilla'' soundtrack because Sony noticed that they mention the great lizard by name. What Sony failed to notice is that they call it "pure motherfucking filler" and that the whole song was about slick American advertising disguising real suffering. (The whole line is "Godzilla, pure motherfucking filler/Keep your eyes off the real killer.") Furthermore, "No Shelter" has the line "Make you think what you need is what they sellin'/Make you think that buyin' is rebellin'."

In 2016, the band (again sans Zack) joined forces with Music/PublicEnemy's Chuck D and B-Real from Music/CypressHill to form the supergroup Prophets of Rage[[note]]Unlike the case of Audioslave, however, Prophets of Rage did play RATM songs, as well as some Cypress Hill, Public Enemy and original songs.[[/note]]. Its run would conclude three years later similarly to Audioslave, as it announced its disbandment very shortly after RATM confirmed that it would reunite once more for a brief tour in the spring of 2020. They are currently set to return to the stage in 2022, having postponed this tour due to COVID-19.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: 6-7