10 Bands That Invented Their Own Genre

It's profoundly weird to look back on how much distance there was between rock and hip hop in the late '80s. Though these were two genres that were abrasive, loud, and dealt with difficult subjects, it always felt like they were kept at arm's length from each other. On the other hand, that kind of anarchic harmony could be reached if you had just the right amount of Rage.

Right in the middle of the alternative movement, Rage Against the Machine wrote the entire book on what rap rock would become with their debut release. Even with rap-rock collaborations happening in the '80s, those combinations felt more like a novelty than anything else. These tracks on the other hand had a lot more going for them, as Zack De La Rocha stepped up to the mic and took authority figures to court on their injustices on songs like Take the Power Back.

They didn't spare expense on the rock portion either, as Tom Morello's guitar pyrotechnics were focused just as much on getting weird off-the-wall sounds as they were with pulling off shredding solo work. Just a few years later we would have people like Korn and Limp Bizkit taking the foundation of Rage and putting their suburban spin on it. While the quality of those acts could be a bit of a mixed blessing, that's what happens when your music packs that much of a punch.