Rage Against the Machine T-Shirt

Five nuns shoulder rifles and smile for the camera; underneath, in plain block type, the band name does the commentary. Nuns with Guns — the collector shorthand is exactly those three words — is one of the defining Rage Against the Machine designs, dated to the band's 1997 merchandise by the dealers and the Defunkd authentication boards. It works the way Rage's whole visual program worked: find a photograph where piety and firepower share a frame, print it big, add nothing. The back carries the band's cog-toothed R, stamped like a seal the size of a hubcap. The design has real market behind it — recent Grailed listings run from $180 up to $315 for clean 1997 examples — and it has been bootlegged more or less continuously since, which for this band always read less like theft and more like the message getting out.

Black short sleeve cotton tee with Rage Against the Machine graphic.

Sourcing
We source these shirts from thrift stores, estate sales, and directly from bootleg and overprint collectors.