20 Most Important Hard Rock Albums Of All Time
19. Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine
The 90's were a bit of a strange time to be a metalhead. Sure, we may have had great acts like Pantera and Metallica flying the flag for the genre, but the order of the day seemed to be more in line with the classic rock sounds coming from the grunge scene. Rather than conform to the sounds of the time, Rage Against the Machine emerged out of California and changed the rock landscape forever.
It feels like doing rocket science trying to nail down the band's sound. Tom Morello's impressive runs were definitely rock, but the ferocious delivery of Zack de la Rocha had traces of punk and hip hop laced between his words. Combine that with the funk and rock stylings of the rhythm section and the band's attack was all but secure.
This record might not have been the first time hard rock was mixed with hip hop, but this was one of the first acts that weren't treated like a novelty act. As opposed to the collaborations from Run-DMC and Aerosmith, these guys made their songs seem like musical calls to arms rather than a party jam and created the nu metal genre as we know it...for better and for worse. Rage Against the Machine weren't necessarily the band of the 90's, but they left their mark by throwing away the rules and delivering pure fury onto a record.