Rage Against the Machine was formed in Los Angelas, CA in the early 1990's as an effort to "expose the hipocracies of our government in the context of good music". Tom Morello, the band's originator, found Zack de la Rocha while he was performing ina hardcore band called Inside Out at an L.A. bar one night. After convincing Zack that their interests were the same, they decided to group together and attempt their own records. Shortly after, Zack convinced his lifelong friend, Tim Commerford, to join as their bassist. I am not exactly sure how their drummer, Brad Wilk, entered the band.
RATM is known for their controversial lyrics, conduct, and their unique sounds usually elemented by Tom Morello and his setup. It wasn't unusual for them to be called "radicals" among other things. Sure there music is incredible and sounds like no other band on Earth I can assure you, but many people miss what the music's messages are. In each and every song lies real issues going on in our world today or predicted issues for the future. For example, in their song, "Wake Up", every lyric put together makes the message clear and simple, wake up and see the hipocracy, brutality, and manipulation throughout our entire world! It is for these reasons why they are often targeted by officials as a "threat to society".
(subject to additional text, check back l8r and check out the video bars please!)