The cover image is a crop of Malcolm Browne’s most iconic photograph featuring front and centre the heroic Vietnamese Buddhist monk, Thích Quảng Đức, enacting self-immolation. It was taken in Saigon in 1963, with Quảng Đức protesting against the corrupt President Ngô Đình Diệm for oppressing the country’s Buddhist religion. A staunch Catholic and anti-communist, Đình Diệm was captured and assassinated in the US-backed 1963 military coup.
At the time of release, Browne was working as an Associated Press correspondent. The photograph was so moving that the widespread international attention it garnered led US President John F. Kennedy to withdraw its support for Diệm’s government. Given what we noted above, that’s a remarkable feat for a single photograph. The image of Quảng Đức remains as shocking today as it was back in the ’60s, and that is indicative of its power. Furthermore, Browne was also awarded World Press Photo of the Year, showing the degree of impact it had. The image perfectly captures the band’s spirit and real message: always rage against the machine.
[https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/rage-against-the-machine-political-album-cover]