Tom Morello is sharing his early idols.

In an interview, the Rage Against the Machine guitarist said, “In 1976, when I was 12 years old, I saw Kiss in Chicago, and that gig was the most exciting two hours of my life. But the majesty of it was beyond me. Then I read about the Sex Pistols in Creem magazine. And I started playing guitar in a band within 48 hours of after hearing Never Mind The Bollocks…”

Morello called the record his “Punk rock revelation, the moment where the skies open and you go, ‘Oh, a lot of that music which I’ve liked up until now isn’t so important anymore.’”

He went on to talk about fitting into the music world and explained, “Eventually I discovered that there was another scene in Los Angeles – the Jane’s Addiction, Fishbone, Red Hot Chili Peppers scene – and the rules were entirely different there. That was a world of oddballs into which I was welcomed with open arms. And that was a road which eventually led to Rage Against The Machine.”