![]() ![]() ![]() Rise Against are nearly always better when they have something of paramount significance to discuss through their lyrics, and Endgame is no exception. Most of Endgame, however, falls in the middle of these two extremes. Sometimes the chemical mixture is like nitroglycerine (“Architects,” which mourns the loss of youthful defiance with age), but occasionally it is as fleeting as the spume caused by mixing Diet Coke and Mentos (the boring “Wait For Me”). Rise Against also seems unafraid to use pop/rock sensibilities on their songs, from the folky-singer/songwriter of “Swing Life Away” to the soaring pop melodies on 2006′s “The Good Left Undone” to the choir on “Make It Stop (September’s Children),” the most immediate of the new tracks.Įndgame takes all of these elements and mixes them together to form a reaction. Tim McIlrath’s indignant-yet-inspiring growls are immediately recognizable, as are the band’s polished-yet-raw guitar tones-which have remained remarkably consistent over the last decade, despite the fact that the band has a revolving door for their guitarists (now up to five). This is a different breed of band than most. Their lyrics will often be written in the third person. They will likely name their songs things like “Kotov Syndrome” (wherein a person will struggle to make an unclear decision, and after running low on time, will likely make a bad one), “Re-Education (Through Labor),” or “Survivor Guilt.” And they may even decide, as they do on 2011′s Endgame, to name a song “A Gentlemen’s Coup,” despite the fact that punk music is not known for its gentlemen. The title of their fourth album, 2006′s The Sufferer and the Witness, implies that the band is concerned about apathy in the world-particularly in the areas of politics and animal rights, it turns out-and the title of 2008′s Appeal to Reason is particularly crucial in understanding the band’s optimism that, given the chance, people can discern morally correct actions (and undertake them).Ī band like this will likely leave the Chicago punk rock scene to record their albums in a relatively small, relaxed, liberal city like Fort Collins, Colorado. It sounds rebellious, bordering on anarchist, from which you can infer that they are not only a punk band, but one of those punk bands that dissents from the norm through their lyrics. Much of what you need to know about Rise Against can be ascertained from their name. ![]()
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