12 Hard Rock Bands Who Succeeded By Never Selling Out

In order to fully sell out, you'll need to develop a decent relationship with the big wigs. After you've seen a bit of success, the bands would typically listen to the record execs to guide them to even bigger levels of stardom. For a band that has always been about fighting the established order, you knew that was the last thing on the minds of Rage Against the Machine.

The band's mix of influences aimed to please anyone who has ever felt disenfranchised, with Zack de la Rocha's percussive vocal delivery undercut by Tom Morello's DJ like scratching with his guitar. Together with the hard rock and funk of Brad Wilk and Tim Commerford, the band created a sound that hit a nerve with the youth of America who felt looked down upon by their elders.

At a time when grunge was booming from every stereo, Rage Against the Machine was also front and center because of just how universal their message was. By the time they had broken up in the early 2000's, the band had created an impressive catalog of the most explosive music the hard rock world had ever known. Most bands aim to make some good tunes, but what these guys made moved your soul just as much as it moved your body.