10 Most Important Hard Rock Bands Of The 90s

Around the time that grunge was about to take over, there was something a little different going down in Los Angeles. As bands like Ratt were still lighting up the circuit at the time, there was a little band called Rage Against the Machine that had a lot more punch than anyone else. Once we got their records though, the entire rock community seemed to change on a dime.

While this was nowhere near the kind of music that the grunge scene was making, Rage's brand of rap rock was too hooky to ignore for a second, especially when you took a look at the harsh lyrics floating above everything. Compared to the lavish party lifestyle that the hair metal scene always sang about, Zack de la Rocha always said what he felt on every track that they made, whether it was the broken government system that he'd dealt with his whole life or shining a light on the disenfranchised people who never got a fair shot from society.

And by all accounts, that sincerity is what made them that much better. Though they cultivated a fanbase that would eventually be taken over by the nu metal scene, Rage was always looking to serve those on the fringes, and were willing to take the entire system down if it meant that their voices would be heard. Grunge may have been worlds apart, but both genres knew a thing or two about the power of anger, and no one forgot how much of a gift it was.