30 years ago today (11/2/92), Rage Against The Machine released their powerful self-titled debut album. This album was released on the same day as the 1992 United States presidential election, an ironic coincidence considering the band’s fertile political lyrics and socially conscious agenda. One of the most important and influential records of all time, this band of then-unknown LA-based musicians brought a fistful of metal and rap into a fiery stew that would soon ignite a new genre in itself. Rage would tour on Lollapalooza ’93 and would soon cement itself as one of rock’s most potent live acts.
The album cover features a crop of Malcolm Browne’ famous photograph of the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, in Saigon in 1963. The monk was protesting President Ngô Đình Diệm’s administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion. Watch Rage live in 1992 at Berkeley full show
