Brad Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American drummer. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (2016–2019). Wilk started his career as a drummer for Greta in 1990, and helped co-found Rage Against the Machine with Tom Morello and Zack de la Rocha in August 1991. Following that band's breakup in October 2000, Wilk, Morello, Rage Against the Machine bassist Tim Commerford and Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell formed the supergroup Audioslave, which broke up in 2007. From 2016 to 2019, he played in the band Prophets of Rage, with Commerford, Morello, Chuck D, B-Real and DJ Lord. He currently plays in the band Rage Against the Machine following their reunion. Wilk has also performed drums on English metal band Black Sabbath's final album 13, released in June 2013. He briefly played with Pearl Jam shortly after the release of their debut album Ten. Early life Wilk was born on September 6, 1968, in Portland, Oregon. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois, before his family settled in Southern California. He started to play the drums when he was thirteen years old. He has cited John Bonham, Keith Moon, and Elvin Jones as his greatest influences. Wilk was a fan of Van Halen in his youth. Career Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–present) Wilk's success as the drummer of Rage Against the Machine came from the failure of a different band; he once auditioned for a band called Lock Up, who released one album (titled Something Bitchin' This Way Comes) through Geffen records in 1989 and broke up when the album received little media attention upon release. Former Lock Up guitarist Tom Morello was looking to pick up where Lock Up left off and start a new band, and contacted Wilk, who was playing with the band Greta, to see if he was interested in playing the drums. A short while after, the duo met Zack de la Rocha while he was rapping freestyle in a club, and through him, bassist Tim Commerford (a childhood friend of de la Rocha). The band played two shows in 1991, and spent 1992 frequenting the L. A. club circuit, during which they signed a record deal with Epic Records, and released their self-titled debut album that November. They quickly achieved commercial success and would go