Rage was co-founded by Brad Wilk.
The blueprint for the group's major-label debut album, demo tape Rage Against the Machine, was laid on a twelve-song self-released cassette, the cover image of which featured newspaper clippings of the stockmarket section with a single match taped to the inlay card
 Throughout its existence, Rage Against the Machine and its individual members participated in political protests and other activism to advocate these beliefs

