10 Best Hard Rock Bands Of The 90s

After the alt-rock movement kicked off at the start of the decade, the musical landscape was left wide open for any band to seep through. While more unoriginal bands decided to ape the sounds coming from Seattle, Rage Against the Machine provided a much-needed outlet for the hard rockers of the world.

With the release of the band's first album in 1992, the hard rock world was thrown for a loop. Here was a band that was taking the punch of 70's hard rock and injecting it with the lyrical spit of hip hop. Even if you weren't sure what to think of these seemingly disparate genres clashing, all of the skepticism faded away when the music kicked ass.

Zack de la Rocha's verbal venom had all the power of a hip hop MC while also being as commanding as a hard rock frontman. On the other side of the sonic spectrum, the rhythm section of Brad and Wilk and Tim Commerford locked in some of the funkiest grooves while Tom Morello's guitar produced sounds that felt like they were coming from other planets. Without even knowing it, Rage's music preceded the nu metal movment and turned them into one of the most visceral bands the 90's would ever see.