10 Perfect Albums That Changed Rock History

At the start of the '90s, it felt like the punk rock movement was starting to lose its luster just a little bit. Though you did have bands like Bad Religion still paving the way for what punk could be, they weren't necessarily getting on the charts as much as the Sex Pistols used to back in the day. This was a new decade, and the way forward was to get get just a little more aggro.

Before you even get to the music, it's staggering to even think that Rage Against the Machine managed to play the same California clubs that Ratt were playing at the time, with songs that were a mix of punk rock, metal bombast, and stark social commentary from Zack de la Rocha. Off the strength of their first outing, a whole new generation of metalheads was born, which got as much excitement out of bands like Slayer as they did from Public Enemy.

Whether they want to get the credit or not, Rage Against the Machine successfully gave birth to rap rock as we know it today, with everyone from Linkin Park to System of a Down taking cues from what they started all the way back in the early '90s. Though this time was a turning point for many different styles of rock, Rage was where rock started to get a lot more angry.