It's about fucking time. Rage Against the Machine will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The rap-metal pioneers are among the Rock Hall's class of 2023 inductees, who were announced today (May 3rd) and also include Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, George Michael, and the Spinners.
Unfortunately, two other bands in our corner of the world who were up for nomination, Iron Maiden and Soundgarden, didn't make the cut this year.
While any metalhead would attest that Iron Maiden should've been admitted years ago by the supposed arbiters of rock excellence, this is only their second time being nominated and shut out. Rage Against the Machine had racked up a whopping five (!) nominations since their first year of eligibility in 2017, and after four pathetic whiffs by the people who vote in the annual ceremony, they've finally made it through the front door.
In addition to Maiden and Soundgarden (who've also been nominated twice), the other artists on the ballot who didn't make the final cut are A Tribe Called Quest, Cyndi Lauper, Joy Division/New Order, Warren Zevon, and the White Stripes.
Notably, Rage Against the Machine have been voted into the formal performer category, not by way of the Musical Excellence Award that Judas Priest received last year, which was the Rock Hall's way of nodding to Priest's unquantifiably vast influence on rock music without formally including them in 2022's class of inductees.
The 2023 induction ceremony will go down November 3rd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but who knows if Rage Against the Machine (who're currently on hiatus from touring due to Zack de la Rocha's leg injury) will partake in a customary performance.
As always, it's important for us metalheads to use this annual day of disappointment (RATM's induction aside) to remember the immortal words of Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson when it comes to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
"I actually think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an utter and complete load of bollocks, to be honest with you," Dickinson told a room of fans in a 2018 stop on one of his spoken-word tours. He added, "It's run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn't know rock & roll if it hit them in the face. They need to stop taking Prozac and start drinking fucking beer."
