Editing Rage Against the Machine (section)

=== 1991–1992: Early years ===
[[File:Rage Against the Machine (Logo).png|alt=Typset logo|thumb|left|Logo from the band's first album]]
In 1991, following the break-up of guitarist Tom Morello's former band [[Lock Up (U.S. band)|Lock Up]], former Lock Up drummer [[Jon Knox]] encouraged Tim Commerford and Zack de&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha to jam with Morello as he was looking to start a new group.<ref name="Myers"/> Morello soon contacted Brad Wilk, who had unsuccessfully auditioned for both Lock Up<ref name="Myers"/> and the band that would later become [[Pearl Jam]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brad-wilk-pearl-jam-audition/|title=Why Brad Wilk Failed Pearl Jam Audition|last=Kielty|first=Martin|website=Ultimate Classic Rock|date=May 4, 2018 |language=en|access-date=November 3, 2019|archive-date=May 4, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180504163145/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/brad-wilk-pearl-jam-audition/|url-status=live}}</ref> This lineup named themselves Rage Against the Machine, after a song De&nbsp;la&nbsp;Rocha had written for his former underground [[hardcore punk]] band [[Inside Out (band)|Inside Out]] (also to be the title of the unrecorded ''Inside Out'' full-length album).<ref name="Myers"/> Record label owner and zine publisher [[Kent McClard]], with whom Inside Out was associated, coined the phrase "rage against the machine" in a 1989 article in his [[zine]] ''[[No Answers]]''.<ref name=McClard/>

The blueprint for the group's major-label debut album and [[demo tape]] ''[[Rage Against the Machine (demo album)|Rage Against the Machine]]'' was laid on a twelve-song self-released cassette, the cover image of which featured newspaper clippings of the stock market section with a single match taped to the inlay card. Not all 12 songs made it onto the final album—two were eventually included as [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]], while three others never saw an official release.<ref name="Woodlief"/> Several record labels expressed interest, and the band eventually signed with [[Epic Records]]. Morello said, "Epic agreed to everything we asked—and they've followed through&nbsp;... We never saw a[n] [ideological] conflict as long as we maintained creative control."<ref name="officialfaq"/>