Competent pop-punk brushed with adult bathos is the bill of fare on Rise Against's 2006 album, THE SUFFERER AND THE WITNESS. The Chicago group have everything working in their favor here, with top-shelf production by genre veterans Bill Stevenson (All, Descendents, Black Flag) and Jason Livermore (The Ataris), and an appearance in the 2005 film LORDS OF DOGTOWN building momentum for the group. Musically, Rise Against reside at the intersection of aggression, melody, experience, and emotion, merging the heart-on-sleeve sounds of mid-'80s DC hardcore with professionally solid pop a la Weezer. Singer Tim McIlrath's dusky holler is the uniting factor, carrying songs like the anthemic "Prayer of the Refugee" over the finish line with determination and grit.

Aug 2006

Rise Against return with "Sufferer & The Witness”; their stupendous follow up to 2005s "Siren Song Of The Counter Culture". Rise against have it all, they are scream-core geniuses but can also get away with ballads like "Swing Life Away" from "Siren...".

It's hard to pick out any outstanding tracks here as they all offer something different and are just as catchy as the next. If you haven't heard Rise Against before, you wont need to check out their back catalogue you can just dive straight in here. For fans of Alexisonfire, Eighteen Visions and Fightstar.

Jon Baker, HMV Worcester

• Rolling Stone (p.102) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "With even more shout-along moments and topsy-turvy action, it's rousing, tightly wound and could be the album of the summer for anybody who needs a good yowl in their lives."
  Spin (p.85) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Guitars rev up and wind down, rhythms blitz forward, then ease off, and frontman Tim McIlrath is just as comfortable crooning an emo power ballad as screaming..."
  Entertainment Weekly (p.67) - "^T]heir relentless riffs, howling screamo choruses, and pissed-off rhetoric clearly connect with a new generation..." -- Grade: B+
  Q (p.115) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Raw and splenetic, their wild-eyed anthems burn with anti-establishment fury. There's no let-up in the pace."
  Alternative Press (p.204) - 4 out of 5 -- "SUFFERER delivers blow after blow, polished to perfection by producer Bill Stevenson..."
  Kerrang (Magazine) (p.51) - "^Their] different styles mix together to form something both gut-wrenching and life-affirming."

Competent pop-punk brushed with adult bathos is the bill of fare on Rise Against's 2006 album, THE SUFFERER AND THE WITNESS. The Chicago group have everything working in their favor here, with top-shelf production by genre veterans Bill Stevenson (All, Descendents, Black Flag) and Jason Livermore (The Ataris), and an appearance in the 2005 film LORDS OF DOGTOWN building momentum for the group. Musically, Rise Against reside at the intersection of aggression, melody, experience, and emotion, merging the heart-on-sleeve sounds of mid-'80s DC hardcore with professionally solid pop a la Weezer. Singer Tim McIlrath's dusky holler is the uniting factor, carrying songs like the anthemic "Prayer of the Refugee" over the finish line with determination and grit.

After the breakup, in the late 1990s, of Chicago hardcore band 88 Fingers Louie, bassist/vocalist Joe Principe formed Rise Against, a similarly melodic outfit that balances angst, punk politics, and post-grunge hooks, reflecting the multi-faceted nature of the Chicago hardcore scene. After two well-received albums on Fat Wreck Chords and hundreds of thrilling live shows, the band landed a major label deal and continued to attract a larger fanbase. Their 2006 album charted at #10 on the Billboard 200, and the band's music has shown up in films, on TV, and in video games, but, true to their name, Rise Against continues to uphold a David-vs.-Goliath punk ethos that includes endorsing PETA and other animal rights and vegan concerns.