Rage Against the Machine is known as an important band, mainly because they added rap to strong, driving hard rock riffs and it was all a rebellion with a cause and not the usual love and lust cock rock lyrics or the evil or scary fantasy themes of the rest of the metal scene. Yes, as has often happened, a good thing also lead to a bad thing, as in, almost all the nu-metal bands have been inspired by the RATM approach to metal, resulting in abominations such as Slipknot. Ever heard People=Shit?
Agreed.You know it works both ways. Nirvana was a shitty band that ripped off it's style from The Pixies, but thanks to corporate greed (Read: MTV) it paved the way for much better grunge bands like Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden.
Anyway...