10 Best Self-Titled Music Albums In Metal History
5. Rage Against The Machine
An argument could be made that this album's rock rather than metal, but it’s just too good to exclude. Perhaps the most politically charged band to hit America since the Dead Kennedys a decade prior, Rage Against the Machine lit a fire under the music scene with their self-titled debut.
Where other artists dwindle over time, Rage Against the Machine currently seem to be more popular than ever thanks to streaming and persisting radio airplay, with the majority of benefitting songs appearing on this record.
The trailblazing 'Rage Against the Machine' was lightyears ahead of the competition and continued to revolutionise the music industry for years after its release, with the most obvious example of this coming in 2009 when BBC Radio DJ Jon Morter launched a campaign to make ‘Killing in the Name’ the UK Christmas number one to stop TV talent show X-Factor from claiming that spot for a fifth year running. ‘Killing in the Name’ managed to claim the number one spot with over 500,000 registered sales in a single week, and in the process, the radical protest song also became the first download-only single to become UK Christmas number one.
Musicians spend their entire careers dreaming of creating an album that completely re-invents the music scene, but RATM did exactly that on their first attempt. ‘Rage Against the Machine’ is a strong contender for best debut of the '90s, standing as one of the most polarising, game-changing, and trend-setting records of all time.