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Ten Great Bands That Inadvertently Helped Ruin Metal

#9: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

 Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 5:30pm by

When it comes to mixing rap and metal there were obviously bands that did it before Rage Against the Machine, but those bands shouldn’t be credited/blamed for fucking up metal as much as Rage Against the Machine did for the following reasons:

  1. They did it on a one-off basis instead of making a career of it.
  2. They precipitated the rap metal fad by way too many years to be considered true progenitors.
  3. They didn’t do it nearly as fucking well.

If rap metal had continued to be as expertly-crafted and powerful as what Rage Against the Machine debuted with their self-titled effort in 1992, then it surely wouldn’t have become such a bad word. But perhaps it was inevitable. While Rage mixed deep grooves and Tom Morello’s hard-hitting riffs and Harvard-inspired guitar wizardry with Zack de la Rocha’s politically righteous rhymes, all the elements were practically laid out on a plate for a generation of imposters to steal and dumb down. It’s not hard to see how point A leads to point B when it comes to Rage Against the Machine and Limp Bizkit; LB and their cohorts basically just took what Rage did and made it bigger, stupider and easier for the masses to digest.

But holy fuck did Rage Against the Machine blow minds when they came out in ’92. The sound was fresh, it was powerful and it was incredibly invigorating. If you were a kid in the ’90s and you claim that you didn’t go around screaming “Fuck you! I won’t do what you tell me!” at the top of your lungs for weeks after you first heard “Killing in the Name,” you’re a fucking liar.

-VN

THE LIST SO FAR:

#10: Cannibal Corpse

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  • Wildman

    I do love Rage… I should hate them, but I love em.

    And you boys are right, they spawned legions upon legions of shite followers.

  • Che Guitarra

    I remember my first reaction when my buddy told me Rage broke up: “Dude, don’t fuck around like that, that shit ain’t cool.” Took me 5 a full 5 minutes to accept that he wasn’t joking. What a sad day.

    • Super Blaze Dave

      I reacted in pretty much the same way when my buddy told me on the bus one morning.

  • rickyslate

    Fuck this band.

    • Moltanic

      Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me

  • Genial Gentile

    Abso-fucking-lutely. I think this band really epitomizes the spirit of this list. They opened the door to so many regrettable acts, from Bizkit and Korn to all the 3rd and 4th tier bands that they subsequently inspired. Like a xerox of a xerox of a xerox.

    • Gallo666

      Yeah, but in a way they never were that much into metal anyway,(or probably they did, but their music never seemed to appeal to metalheads as much as it did to people with more mainstream oriented tastes)

      For me the biggest fuck-up has to be a band with a strong metal repertoire and history who then decided to make watered down music just for the sake of commercial success, as Sepultura did with Chaos AD and Roots. The whole nu metal scene probably would have never existed without those albums.

      • crapmcpoopin

        Whoa whoa whoa… you can have Roots, but leave Chaos AD out of this.

        • Gallo666

          Chaos is bullshit too..when compared to Sepultura`s earlier releases

          • yetzer hara

            you don’t have “chaos ad,” “burn my eyes,” or any number of mid 90′s metal albums without “vulgar display of power,” and “far beyond driven.” sepultura found their sound with “chaos” and when they brought ross robinson on board for “roots,” they fell to the wayside. just like machine head did with “the burning red.” ross robinson’s touch is the opposite of midas’. i mean, sepultura tried so hard to cop korn on roots that they had jonathan davis do guest vox on “lookaway.” tuning your guitar down to A automatically makes you a loser unless you’re dino or meshuggah. “roots” was garbage and ross robinson was to blame.

            rage’s first album was great. i’m paraphrasing here, but tom morello said of rage’s sound something to the effect of, “we all loved metal, but it was all about demons, wizards, satan, and hell. we wanted to do something relevant and important. we took the sabbath riffs and took modern issues to the plate.” the second rage album wasn’t as good, and i didn’t bother with their subsequent efforts. although, i will say, that when i was in sixth and seventh grade, there were few things as heavy and socially relevant as the first rage against the machine album. now… stuck mojo came before them, but weren’t nearly as good. and, as axl said, there were other bands who did it before rage (i.e. beastie boys, public enemy/anthrax, faith no more, etc) but rage struck a nerve. it was in their artwork, lyrical content, and music… at least on the first record.

          • yetzer hara

            furthermore, any sepultura record before “chaos,” good as it was, was simply cut & paste thrash. “chaos AD” was definitely their epitome.

          • zen dudeist

            Fool. Different, but equally good. If you don’t hear a masterpiece when you listen to it, you need to get your ears candled.
            I’d bet my middle nut that Sepultura, Pantera, and Faith No More will be next on the list

          • Trux

            you sir.. are so wrong .

        • Joshie

          Agreed. The pre-Chaos stuff was great, but when I think Sepultura, I think Chaos AD. That album is the best thing they ever did. And it had Jello Biafra on it, which gives it an extra 5 awesome points.

          • Trux

            agreed !… chaos AD was the best album Sepultura ever did.

      • cougar party

        I guarantee you Sepultura will make this list.

        • KilledByDeath

          What about Iron Maiden? Spawning the whole power metal thing :P

          • Trux

            thank God for that !!

          • cougar party

            True, but i don’t think there was a pervasive problem with terrible power metal as there was with rap metal/nu metal.

      • Genial Gentile

        RATM got a lot more play in hardcore circles than it did in metal because of Zach and Inside Out, but that too was pretty short lived …once “Freedom” started getting MTV airplay, a lot of kids disowned them altogether. That being said, I think this still fits pretty well into the parameters of the list. They definitely opened the floodgates for every jackoff with an adidas track suit to think they could make heavy music.

      • zen dudeist

        the above was directed to the genial goy, not to yetzer, with whom i agree wholeheartedly

    • http://www.heavyblogisheavy.com/ Alkahest

      Rage’s debut came out in 92. Korn’s debut came out in 93. I don’t think there was enough time for Korn to be a straight up ripoff of Rage. Korn doesn’t even rap, they just have guests do it.

      I always thought Korn’s self titled album sounded like they fit somewhere between grunge and metal.

      • Genial Gentile

        Well, you got me there on the timeline…that’s not a huge time difference. The first Korn record actually came out in late ’94 and I distinctly remember the marketing for it being a lot of media blurbs like “if you like RATM, then you’ll love these guys.”

  • Legions: Iron and Steel

    A non-metal band that had absolutey no influence on metal.

    • GIVE US LIBERTY

      Agreed. A Non-metal band. Metal guitarists had somewhat of an influence on Tom Morello. Unfortunately Limp Bizkit copied it but it wasn’t the music that made rage heavy. It was the beautiful message: “Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me.” Don’t forget that, Rage wasn’t doing songs about “The nookie”, babes. or cars. It was about the shit that matters to those who strive for true liberty.

      • Gallo666

        I don`t think those who strive for true liberty would give a shit about Rage

        • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt

          This^^

    • Tonberry

      It might be worth pointing out that the list is “Ten Great Bands That Inadvertently Helped Ruin Metal”, not “Then Great Metal Bands That Inadvertently Helped Ruin Metal”. Also, “Inadvertently” is spelled wrong in that MS Paint graphic.

  • Legions: Iron and Steel

    A non-metal band that had absolutley no influence on metal.

  • Tonberry

    Haha, “guitar wizardry”. OK

    • soy el niño más bonito

      tom morello isn’t the most technically skilled guitarist around but he comes up with really creative ways to make noise.

    • Sammy

      Have you seen Morello shred? He chooses not to on the music he writes, but the man can shred it up.

  • PatrickSTL

    Awesome band. I hear there influence in a lot of bands.
    Still to this day I listen to RAGE, and I also love Zach’s new band, One Day As A Lion

  • http://twitter.com/mrvinniesays vinnie

    Bets on where Tool falls on this list? I’m saying top 5.

  • Ares

    I KNEW it! Good band, but shit did they unintentionally make us suffer through all that nu metal garbage. It was awful, even machine head jumped on the nu metal boat :( !!

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Andrew-Sterner/1335958279 Andrew Sterner

      Thank god they jumped off, too.

  • Eddie

    This is the Rage album I could tolerate. I see what you are saying in terms of clones, others had a hand in it. Wes Borland too me, sounds more like he wanted to be in Helmet but didn’t have the talent to be in that great band. So, he ripped off their licks. Actually so did many more.

    Zack is a true rapper in a rock band. A rap metal band to me would be Biohazard.

    Good point , I am anxious to see where this list goes.

  • Ziltoid

    This band is shit, and not even metal either, although by the title of this list, the bands don’t need to be metal per say.

    • Tonberry

      According to the title of the list, the bands don’t necessarily have to be any good, either. “Great” can be somewhat of an ambiguous term, and could simply refer to their degree of cultural relevance, which, in spite of my feelings towards RAtM, and probably most of the bands that will be on this list, is undeniable. Then again, I’m sure that when Metalsucks says “great”, they absolutely do mean it in terms of their opinion of musical quality.

    • gojirasaurus

      i expected as much from you. but i agree on some level
      rap-metal is not really a sub-genre of metal, more like that cousin that noone really likes but the ones that do like him wont admit it

      • gojirasaurus

        that comment doesnt make much sense actually. the genre wasnt very metal, i guess i was saying

    • afrost

      Oh look, it’s Ziltoid being Ziltoid.

    • Frampler

      Ziltoid, for a commenter who likes to come across as an intellectual, I find it surprising that you wrote ‘per say’ instead of per se.

      • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt

        “Ziltoid slips the jab…afrost throws a CAREENING right hook…Ziltoid ducks again….AND FRAMPLER COMES THROUGH WITH AN AMAZING UPPERCUT….PERFECTLY TIMED……DOWN GOES ZILTOID…..DOWN GOES ZILTOID!!!!!

        • cougar party

          ha ha!

      • BetterThanEzra

        he’s a fraud, that’s why

        • Trux

          my thoughts exactly about Zilty boy..

  • I Am Asteroid

    I’ve loved Rage since I was 14, but yes- they did spawn some of the worst music to ever be recorded. Another solid entry in an already promising list!

  • bearbomb

    Fuck all who hate Rage!

    • Matthew Grant Anson

      So fuck me.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chris-Shepler/42201010 Chris Shepler

      ARGEED

  • Kevin

    God damn there are alot of stupid responses here. When did this become blabberrmouth, where anything that isn’t BROOOTALL, is therefor shit.

    Rage is a great band, please save the dick measuring metal purity tests for another metal site.

  • Discipleofthewatch

    I was a teenager in the nineties, and I did indeed run around yelling the chorus of Killing in the Name Of. For sure!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Morley/618112437 William Morley

    Who’s willing to bet that At The Gates will be on this list?

    • Trux

      and also Immortal/ Cradle/ Dimmu or whatever your top black metal band is for they spawned legions of losers in corpse paint pretending to be so evil and releasing the worst music posible…

      • Gaia

        Immortal are very much the top black metal band.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/William-Morley/618112437 William Morley

      Yeah man Immortal are great. I’m not sure if Cradle of Filth or Dimmu Borgir should make this list though, given they aren’t actually good bands. Maybe Mayhem, they are, or at least were, pretty cool but they brought on all of the norsecore/kvlt bullshit.

      I dunno, I couldn’t really comment on black metal, it’s not really my favourite kind of music, though I dig some of it.

  • Sandwiches

    Ha yes at the gates has got to be on this

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Joel-Mark-Fiscus/729265030 Joel Mark Fiscus

    Killswitch Engage will be number one on this list.

    • Genial Gentile

      I don’t think so. KSE is just reconstituted At the Gates.

      • SourDeez

        Killswitch used elements of At The Gates style swedish riffing, but they inspired the whole “I’m a tough guy but I’m also sensitive” thing, which has nothing to do with swedish melodeath. I predict both bands will be on this list.

  • Mark Neville

    WTF people?! seriously, are you all on crack?! FUCKING GREAT BAND!!!!

    • Kill All

      thank you

    • Hendecahedron

      crack FTW!!

    • Alex_P

      I am on crack, and I like this band. Please try to show some respect to crackheads by not assuming that they all hate Rage Against the Machine.

      • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt

        Tits or GTFO!

  • Harold

    Back then I was stuck on Public Enemy and Anthrax, and followed them. I must be a lair I never thought them a metal band! I figured they were closer to the later Beastie Boys and their vain attempt to rekindle Conscience music.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jay-See/726690352 Jay See

    Don’t get me wrong, I listened to Rage in high school like I’m sure a lot of people in my age range did; but you couldn’t be more right on this one.

    Nailing this list so far, fellas.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Rik-Powell/286400508 Rik Powell

    RATM: Boring riffs, irritating shouty / whiny vocals, stupid effects-laden, random all over the place guitar solo. Repeat. Oh, and they’re certainly not metal. LB made more interesting music than these guys ever did, if you look past Durst’s usually retarded lyrics.

    • Ryan B.

      3/10

    • Bicro

      THIS.

    • NickB

      You lost all credibility with that last sentence.. not that you had any in the first place.

  • Genial Gentile

    Look for Ministry in the top 5. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Helmet either.

  • ferris

    You gotta try to imagine The Way Things Were in ’92-3. And most of the 90s, in fact:

    Metal as we know it was on the way out. Sure, there were many good bands, but Pantera was about the only thing keeping it in arenas. Nobody could say for sure if this thing of ours was dying or evolving or what? Hence the nu-metal tag, which wasn’t, as they say, a dirty word at first.

    At lot of the best heavy music from the 90s wasn’t what we now, in the last 8-9 years of the metal revival, strictly recognize as metal. Helmet, Rage, Ministry, Manson. Shoot, even some Beasties jams.

    You could argue the Beasties did more than anybody to shape the 90s: the music, the dress code, the rappenin’, the weed… As much as there was before & after Nirvana, there was before & after Check Your Head. But that’s a whole ‘nother topic…

  • Bicro

    Screw rage.

    There were many, MANY better bands out at the time.

    All they did was influence the putrid hard rock scene.

  • fightingmike

    I think Rage was a good band and great for the time. Their politics got old really fast though and their songwriting wasnt the greatest, but i still rock their first two records once in a while. Their recordings sound awesome and they still sound original, but they did spawn a couple of decent bands(Downset, P.O.D.)and 100s of aweful ones.

  • kickoutthejamsman

    im always embarrassed about it but i really like RATM. the band that did rap metal best was Anthrax.

  • http://thedailystabmag.blogspot.com Noch

    I admire your talent with words,Vince.

    ”While Rage mixed deep grooves and Tom Morello’s hard-hitting riffs and Harvard-inspired guitar wizardry with Zack de la Rocha’s politically righteous rhymes, all the elements were practically laid out on a plate for a generation of imposters to steal and dumb down.”

    This is far too true.Bands like Limp Bizkit have been inspired by what this band and also Anthrax have done before them,and they got all the accolades for this at a worldwide scale,while all they did was take the ingredients the metal people have brought to the table in the first place,and threw them in the Commercial-Friendly mixer.

    Definitely sad.

  • SourDeez

    I think the main reason for Rage being so much better than any other rap metal act is Tom Morello’s unique guitar style. None of the other bands had any sort of recognizable riffing or tonal quality. It was all “downtune to Z flat and stay on the first 4 frets.” Tom Morello made insane sounds with his guitar, used pedals very effectively, and wrote some kickass riffs. I still think Korn will be on the list, as they didn’t influence rap metal as much as they influenced whiney, self-pitying nu metal. They might not be considered good enough to make the list though.

  • http://schenkeltown.blogspot.com SchenkelTown

    this is a stupid list

    end.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robert-Livingston/25310975 Robert Livingston

    I’m going to go on the record a second time to state that RATM is NOT a metal band.

    • Daniel

      The list is called Ten Great Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal. Not Ten Great METAL Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal.

    • Daniel

      The list is called Ten Great Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal. Not Ten Great METAL Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Daniel-Toy/193302066 Daniel Toy

      The list is called Ten Great Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal. Not Ten Great METAL Bands That Inadvertently Ruined Metal.

  • Nick

    Not a great band at all. An awful one. and not Metal

    • Shitknuckle

      Well put sir…absolute garbage.as far as im concerned Zack D,is hands down one of the worst singers in the history of music.Fuck this band in the face

  • DustintheWind

    Rage was one of the first bands that got me into heavy music, and one of the first concerts i ever went to. I still feel lucky that i was able to see them before they broke up. Thats one thing that hasn’t been mentioned that’s one of the most important aspects of a good metal band, their live performance. And Rage was a fucking freight train. One of the best shows i’ll ever see…

  • matt

    what about the anthrax/public enemy collaboration? …1991. or the aerosmith/run DMC one? …1986?? I’m pretty sure the whole rap/rock or metal thing would have happened with or without RAGE. Your list looks more like “Top 10 Great Bands that Inadvertently Influenced Metal”

    • NickB

      In reference to your last sentence.. that’s what the list is actually titled. I hope you realize that.

  • Dark Jezter

    When RATM broke up, it must have been heartbreaking for dreadlocked neo-hippies in Che Guervara t-shirts.

    • DecrystallizingReason

      I always wonder how many of those kids actually know about what Che Guevera did. You know….executing thousands of innocent people, and all.

  • JB

    Rage is awesome the end of Freedom was some of the heaviest shit ever the first time I heard it

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jason-John-Crispen/100000169530540 Jason John Crispen

      i agree. anyone who doesn’t realize how powerful their first album was is too young to appreciate it when it came out.

  • DecrystallizingReason

    My problem with Rage is their hypocrisy. Supposedly crying out against capitalism while reaping all the benefits of it with CD and merch sales, as well as royalties from sports events, TV commercials, movie soundtracks, etc. just doesn’t add up to me. I like their music, don’t get me wrong, but the message is bullshit.

    • Cryzthormagnusian

      Exactly.

      And the way we whipped the teens into joining their causes was shameful as well. Most of those kids only information about the politics they suddenly decided to support came solely from RATM lyrics. Free Mumia because Rage says it’s right. Bullshit. Rage cashed in on it, pure and simple.

  • Alll Above Posts Are Gay

    i wonder if its possible if one day when metalsucks posts something, that every dipshit with a computer resists the urge to start bashing on a band because they don’t like them.

    • Cryzthormagnusian

      Or when all the other dipshits resist crying about the people that don’t like the same bands they do.

  • Tugboat

    Great music, great band. Morello created some awesome riffs and funky sounds and Zack is a scary good rapper/lyricist. Whether or not their music was metal, it kicked ass.

  • ben

    As far as this list goes…I would have put these guys at #1. BTW, their first album is really good, everything after that was lame.

  • Dillon

    Oh man, I remember back in 2003 I bought Rage Against the Machine’s self-titled album along with Linkin Park’s Meteora around the time the latter hit stores. Guess which one I still have today, and which one I sold off two years later?

    • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt

      Meteora?!

      FTW!!!

  • hexbasher

    how is metal ‘ruined’ ????

  • large jockstrap

    motley crue has to be on the list. they fucking rule, but all the copy bands sucked ass

  • El Peras

    When is BIOHAZARD coming up? And SOAD? and SLIPKNOT? I really dig this list, shows a wide background knowledge from the writers.

    Keep up the good work!

  • http://garm24.wordpress.com Garm

    Well, I never liked RATM, and I ain’t no liar. I guess they were not so popular in Europe. Back then I liked more the gothic stuff: Tiamat, Anathema, Crematory…

  • http://vague-news.blogspot.com Clarky Cat

    I still find it weird that some fans of metal can’t see a connection with hard rock music. Can someone define the difference between hard rock and metal for me?

    • Hammer_Smashed_Hurtt

      Hard Rock- Beer drinking, good time music usually produced/ released between 68′ and ill say 88′ (some may disagree due to age variance) Usually dual guitars, steady 4×4 drum beat, gang choruses. No messages or Agendas.

      METAL- Beer drinking, good time music usually produced/ released betweeen 80′to present. Dual guitars (sometimes) tuned to D or the Iommi tuning C#. Blast beats prevalent, hopefully NO choruses, Messages and Agendas vary from the Political ( Early Metallica/Exodus) to Gore ( Cannibal/ early Death) to whatever..

      enjoy.

    • Dark Jezter

      Hard rock: AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Guns ‘N’ Roses, Aerosmith, etc.

      Metal: Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, etc.

  • Cryzthormagnusian

    RATM always came off to me like the main stream political band for people that wanted to act like they were into politics.

  • WowWee!

    This list is getting better and more fun.

  • Geekbeater

    I predict Korn will be on here because of the sound of their riffs. At the time the sound of their guitars sounded NOTHING like anyone has ever heard. If you disagree you are lying to yourself. Look at half of the deathcore bands today. They rip off every original Korn riff. I personally despise new Korn but their first album was fresh and fucking incredible.

  • infern0

    the writing of that last paragraph is the reason i keep coming back to this blog everyday day.

  • http://www.theoppositionmachine.wordpress.com the opposition machine

    was never a rage fan….and i still say anthrax/PE was the best rap metal ever…mostly because you had two top tier acts collaborating on one of the best rap songs ever written

  • Wolverine999

    Pistol grip pump on my lap at all times
    Pistol grip pump on my lap at all times
    Pistol grip pump on my lap at all times
    They can be fucking with other niggaz shit, but they can’t be fucking with mine

    I can’t get this damn song out of my mind!!! Thanks Rage!!!

  • tomtheweatherman

    RATM’s music was informed more by funk and hardcore than metal. Their imitators seemed like horribly misinformed, low-rent caricatures.
    Judas Priest should also be on this list for integrating the lame-ass s&m gear into the image of metal.

  • David

    Vince made the point that others came first…the Chili Peppers were actually the first rock band to rap. I think the ‘True Men Don’t Kill Coyotes’ video premiered on Night Flight sometime in 82-83, slap bass and everything.

    The Chili Peppers toured incessantly in the US, especially up and down the West Coast. This influence is eventually why L.A., S.F., and Sacto become hot spots for the Rap/Metal hybrid as bands like RATM, FNM, Deftones, and others emerged in the early 90′s. This also explains why RATM and Korn debuts are only a year apart.

    Though they had good intentions (to pay tribute to George Clinton/P-funk) the Chili’s are largely responsible for the near-global hate or white rappers in Rock, and Slap Bass…but they aren’t metal.

  • Gaia

    Hmmm contradicting myself but as an outsider bet, I reckon that Sleep will be on here. Now, I love stoner/doom metal, but there are so many bands now doing the same thing in the genre that it’s getting wearisome to find the ones that are worthwhile.

  • iolanach

    I like a few of their songs. Could do without the lame “we’re radicals MAAAAAAAN!!!” bit tough.

  • brandonmetal

    man, that’s a lotta comments.
    i know i’m not gonna read em.

  • Tarakan

    FUCK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!