On This Day in 1996, the Album That Put Rage Against the Machine on the Map Debuted at No. 1

On this day (May 5) in 1996, Rage Against the Machine’s sophomore album, Evil Empire, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album contained some of the band’s best-known songs, including “Down Rodeo,” “Without a Face,” and the Grammy Award-winning “Tire Me.”

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Rage Against the Machine’s debut solo album wasn’t a huge chart success, peaking at No. 45 on the Billboard 200. However, it introduced the band to countless listeners with tracks like “Killing in the Name,” “Bombtrack,” and “Bullet in the Head.” Evil Empire saw the band return with a refined version of the sound they were trying to capture on their debut.

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“I was always really excited about the potential of fusing some of the hardcore music I was listening to in the early ’80s, mid-’80s, like Government Issue and Bad Brains. D.C. hardcore bands that I was into and fusing that with hip-hop,” RATM frontman Zach De La Rocha told MTV. “And I certainly felt that on the first record we didn’t do it as tastefully as we did on the second,” he added. “I thought the first one had a little too much Zeppelin in it,” De La Rocha said of their debut record.

Rage Against the Machine Recorded Evil Empire in Their Rehearsal Space

After releasing their debut album, Rage Against the Machine toured almost constantly for three years. Then, instead of taking a break, they went to a studio in Atlanta to record their sophomore release. However, after living in close quarters for years, they were tired of one another. The personal differences they put aside for the tour came to a head during the recording sessions. So, the band’s members went their separate ways for a few months. Then, they came together in their Los Angeles rehearsal space to start work on Evil Empire.

“Why spend $2,000 a day in some fancy recording studio trying to recreate the great vibe that we have right here,” Tom Morello said of the space. “We literally knocked a hole in the wall, rented the room across that hall, and ran the wires over the hallway,” he added.

“We weren’t going to go in and play in a studio that just had no environment whatsoever,” De La Rocha said. “You get in some of those places, and it’s like you’re walking into a dentist’s office. I’ve had my teeth cleaned, thanks a lot. I don’t want to do that,” he added.

So, with renewed vigor and on familiar turf, the band recorded the album that would propel them to mainstream success.

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