Tom Morello honors Rage Against The Machine’s notorious performance on SNL

The 30th anniversary of Rage Against the Machine‘s one and only notorious appearance on “Saturday Night Live” fell on April 13. Many people tuned in to see the band because that concert was just a few days before the rap metal pioneering group’s much awaited sophomore album, “Evil Empire.” But as the audience would later learn, the band’s use of political iconography onstage, such as upside-down American flags, caused conflict with the show’s personnel. As a result, only the band’s rendition of “Bulls On Parade” was shown.

Yesterday, April 13, Tom Morello, the guitarist for the now-Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-induced group, used social media to discuss the occasion and capture the insanity of the day. “Evil Empire,” which was released on April 16, 1996, was certified platinum by August 1st of that same year. It was last certified three times platinum in May of 2000.

Today’s the 30th anniversary of RATM’S um, ‘memorable’ performance on SNL. There was a fight onstage between our crew and SNL stage hands moments before our performance, wrestling over some upside down American flags which adorned our amps. Timmy C then attacked host/billionarie/presidential candidate Steve Forbes’ family in the dressing room with a wadded up flag. Secret Service flooded the hallways. SNL cut (censored?) our second song and kicked us out onto the sidewalk. 
Evil Empire entered the Billboard Album Chart at #1.

In 1991, the American rock group Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or Rage) was founded in Los Angeles, California. It included guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, and vocalist Zack de la Rocha. They combined anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, and revolutionary lyrics with elements of heavy metal, rap, punk rock, and funk. They had sold more than 16 million records globally as of 2010. In 2023, they were admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rage Against the Machine‘s self-titled first album was well received when it was released in 1992; Rolling Stone listed it as the 368th best album of all time in 2003. After performing at the 1993 Lollapalooza festival, they became commercially successful.