Zack de la Rocha wields the guitar in pre-Rage Against the Machine band Hard Stance in resurfaced 1990 footage
Ever wondered what Rage Against the Machine were up to before they explosively entered the musical arena with their powerful take on rap-rock? Fans of Rage Against the Machine frontman Zack de la Rocha will be keen to know that old footage of him playing guitar in his old hardcore band Hard Stance has surfaced from RATM archives, according to NME. Watch the video below and keep an eye out for Zack playing guitar at the forefront. Presented by hate5six and shot in March 1990 at the Hollywood Live nightclub, the 30-minute clip shows Zack without his famous dreadlocks, jumping and firing up embers on stage as the band kicks up a frenzy for the crowd. At the end of the video, it is straight-up pandemonium as numerous rowdy crowd members hurl themselves onto the stage, stage dive off again while security tries to get them off.
Before the video of the frenetic gig, a disclaimer reads, “The following footage was recovered from a tape owned by the Haworth family and provided to hate5six.com for digitization, restoration, and online preservation." It adds, “The identity of the original filmer is currently unknown but will be made clear in the description should they come forward.” The above gig was the last show by Hard Stance. The band initially formed in 1987 with Zack on guitar and Eric Ernst on vocals. When the frontman left the band, Zack took over the mic and formed the hardcore punk band Inside Out. It was only until 1991, that Zack would form Rage Against the Machine with fellow bandmates Tom Morello, Tim Commerford, and Brad Wilk. Fans may also be interested to know that the RATM band moniker came from an album title that Inside Out had planned for their full-length debut. However, the LP was never recorded.
Rage Against the Machine initially split in 2000, as Zack said that the group “no longer meeting the aspirations of all four of us collectively as a band, and from my perspective, has undermined our artistic and political ideal”. Between 2007 and 2011, RATM got back together to perform a series of shows before disbanding once again. After a silent period of several years, the band announced in November last year that they will be reuniting again for a tour with Run the Jewels across the United States, including a headline set at Coachella, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the group was forced to postpone the tour to 2021.