10 Things You Didn't Know About Famous Music Album Covers
3. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)
The cover for Rage Against the Machine's debut album has become one of the more evocative images in music history. From the moment Rage entered the musical sphere it was clear they had a message. For an album with songs as politically charged as Killing In The Name Of and Freedom, it was only suiting that the packaging displayed an image that represented resistance to an oppressive regime.
The image depicts Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese monk, wreathed in flame. During 1963 the President of South Vietnam implemented a number of pro-Catholic/anti-Buddhist policies, that would favour members of the Catholic minority for governmental and military promotion. The policies also involved land reforms which saw property taken away from Buddhists, as well as the banning of the Buddhist flag. This resulted in a number of protests, and famously on 8 May 1963 nine civilians were shot in the City of Huế.
On 11 June 1963, hundreds of monks gathered in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to march in protest. The shocking conclusion to the day saw Thích Quảng Đức sit at a busy intersection, douse himself in gasoline before dropping a match into his lap. Journalist Malcolm Browne took the iconic photo and his colleague, David Halberstam, reported it took roughly ten minutes for the body to be fully consumed by the flames.
Thích Quảng Đức was reported to have never moved or cry out while he died.