A Lesson In... 07.21.09: Rise Against

Posted by Alistair McGeorge on 07.21.2009

This week Alistair McGeorge returns to look at punk-rock stars Rise Against. From their formation a decade ago to last year’s Appeal To Reason, come inside for a lesson in the band’s past.

Hello one and all (or maybe just one...hopefully more than that) to A Lesson In...once again. As always, I'm your teacher Alistair McGeorge, and this week we're looking at a band I actually had the pleasure of interviewing earlier this year before seeing them live that night. Before we get onto that, though, an apology- I won't be replying to comments this week, and the column is a bit shorter than usual (by my standards), because I'm actually getting this done the two days after last week's went online, with everything being finalized the day before it goes on the site. This is because I was doing a charity gig over the weekend, and didn't have my laptop for 4 days. I've still put the hours in, but I'll apologize now if it's not up to scratch with what I've done so far.

To make it up to everyone…have a bonus video!



With that said, back to the clichéd regular proceedings...STOP! It's banner time.



Like I said, I saw Rise Against earlier in the year for the first time, and it was just incredible. I'll get to my proper opinion of the band later on, but I'm a big fan. I was grateful to have the chance to interview bassist and co-founder Joe Principe before the gig for PR1 (the student magazine for my uni, the University of Central Lancashire). Despite only spending maybe 10 minutes with him, it was a very interesting conversation, and the resulting article was (I hope) an interesting read.

So, here's a band I know a fair bit about, and one that I'm really into, so hopefully this will be a decent lesson. Like Avenged Sevenfold last week, we're going back to 1999, although this time to Chicago and with a little punk band called Transistor Revolt...



Joe Principe and Tim McIlrath formed Transistor Revolt a decade ago alongside Toni Tintari and Mr. Precision, releasing a self-titled, self-produced demo E.P. a year later. This line-up never performed live, with Tintari leaving shortly after this release, replaced by current drummer Brandon Barnes. In 2001, the name was changed to Rise Against, and the band signed with and then released their debut album on Fat Wreck Chords (started by NOFX guitarist Fat Mike).

The Unraveling was notable for being the last time Mr. Precision would record with the band, and also the only album to feature McIlrath just on lead vocals. It was produced by Mass Giorgini, who has worked with bands like Alkaline Trio and Anti-Flag. It contains re-recordings of the songs from the Transistor Revolt demo, and was re-released in 2005 with a couple of bonus tracks.

It actually includes one of my favourite Rise Against songs, in the form of "Everchanging". It's a great song about sacrifice and love, and the acoustic version is just as good, if not better:



After this album, Mr. Precision left the band, and Todd Mahoney replaced him on guitars before they began writing and recording their second album…



Heaven knows…

Rise Against toured in support of The Unraveling until work properly began on Revolutions per Minute in December 2002. It was released in 2003, again on Fat Wreck Chords, although it would be their last release on the label before their move to a major label for their third release.

The album spawned two singles ("Heaven Knows" and "Like An Angel"), the latter of which was featured as part of the soundtrack for Tony Hawk's Underground and in mountain bike film The Collective, giving the band a bit of mainstream exposure, despite the album not really making any proper waves or propelling them into the mainstream.

The album showed a sign of things to come from the Chicago group, with "Blood-red, White and Blue" in particular already having a political theme, a trait present in much of Rise Against's material. A nice surprise at the end of the album is a cover of Journey's "Any Way You Want It", included as a hidden track. This album marked the beginning of Rise Against's, no pun intended, rise to the top, and they began to tour extensively in support of their first two releases, including support slots for bands like AFI and NOFX, plus a slot on the Warped Tour 2003.



Is love is a labor I'll slave till the end…

In December of that year, Rise Against signed a major label contract with Dreamworks Records, and recorded Siren Song of the Counter Culture the following year. The gap between the deal and the release of the album could've been a bit smoother though, with a couple of things changing with both band and record company before Rise Against's major label debut.

Dreamsworks was absorbed into the Universal Music Group, and the band was signed to Geffen Records, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group. Also, Mahoney left the band shortly after this, with Chris Casse replacing him on guitar. It wouldn't be the final line-up change for the band, but this line-up were together with the release of SSotCC, and would stay like this for the next couple of years.

This album was a move to a slightly more melodic sound compared to their earlier material, and was produced by Garth Richardson (who's worked with the likes of Biffy Clyro, Rage Against The Machine and Nickelback, to name a few). It's got a great sound, in my opinion, and tracks like the single "Life Less Frightening" showed what fans could expect over the next few years.

One of my favourite tracks from the album (and indeed from their entire back catalogue) is the beautiful acoustic single "Swing Life Away", which reached #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Charts. It's a fantastic song and was stunning when I saw them live. It was actually a re-recording from the song of the same title they did for Punk Goes Acoustic in 2003, but either version is worth listening to. I could only find the original version, so here it is:



The album sold very well considering the stature of the band at the time, peaking at #136 in the Billboard 200, #1 on the Top Heatseekers Chart, and being certified Gold earlier this year. It's a must for any fan of the band, but there was more to come, but not before more extensive touring. Rise Against toured until 2006, playing in venues from the US and Japan to Australia and Europe. They played on the Taste of Chaos Tour in 2005, plus Give It A Name, festival dates and the Warped Tour yet again.



Prayer of the Refugee

Recording began in January 2007 for the band's second major label release, The Sufferer & The Witness, which was released a few months later, again on Geffen Records. It surpassed the success of the last album, debuting at #10 in the Billboard 200 and selling 48,000 copies in its first week! It has since been certified Gold by the RIAA, and much of that success could be attributed to arguably one of the band's better known "earlier" songs, "Prayer of the Refugee".

Since it was released as the album's second single, it has been re-recorded as a bonus track for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and the album version appears alongside two songs off the next album as downloadable content for Rock Band. It was originally titled "Diaspora", and was the first single by the band to reach the Top 10 of the Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at #7.

The album was generally well-received by critics, seen as a "return to form", to the old punk-rock ideals and genre and brought them to the dance. To break things up nicely, here's a look at an acoustic version of the single I mentioned earlier:



DVD, touring, new guitarist and more touring…

In December 2006, Generation Lost was released, being the band's first (and to the best of my knowledge, only thus far) DVD. It has a documentary, live tracks and then some music videos. By the second half of 2006, and all of 2007, Rise Against toured in support of TS&TW, including headline the Warped Tour 2006. Touring included a co-headlining tour with Thursday, plus support including Billy Talent, and an opening slot for My Chemical Romance early 2007.

Following this, Chris Casse's departure was announced, and he was replaced by Zach Blair. A few months later, the band embarked on the first official headlining tour in support of the album, and released an E.P. called This Is Noise, featuring covers, live tracks and other rarities to tide the fans over to the next release.

More festival dates followed, including Download Festival here in the UK, and of course the Warped Tour. By October 2008, the next stage of the band's career and their push into the mainstream was complete…



I can still remember the words and what they meant…

Rise Against released Appeal to Reason, which quickly became their most successful album, and can be credited with propelling them towards the mainstream. Not only did it sell 64,700 copies within the week after its release, it also peaked at #3 in the U.S. Billboard 200.

Whilst generally Appeal to Reason got favorable reviews, it was not as well received by some critics who felt it was a departure from their earlier material. I'll say at this point that regardless of the style, it's an incredible album. There isn't really a bad track on this at all, and in my opinion there is real meaning behind the lyrics.

The singles also performed well in the charts; "Re-Education (Through Labor)" peaked at #3 in the Modern Rock Tracks chart, "Audience of One" one lower in the Hot Modern Rock Tracks, although "Savior" peaked at #17.

One of the best songs on the album, and one of the most moving I've heard in years, is the incredible "Hero of War". It's a beautifully stunning (in my opinion) acoustic track, and I couldn't get through this column without giving you all a chance to listen to it:



Grading… Rise Against

I'm a big fan of the band, despite only over the last couple of months really getting into their early material. Whilst I was drawn in by songs like "Audience of One" and "Hero of War", tracks like "Swing Life Away" and "Life Less Frightening" encouraged me to stay. It was a pleasure to meet Joe Principe earlier this year, and seeing them perform was a fantastic gig-going experience. I honestly can't wait until their split record with Face to Face, just to see what new material they will have for us all.

Homework:

I'm going for a longer column next week to make up for it, so next week's band will definitely give me plenty to write about. Leave your answers in the comment section, with the band name and the answers to these clues:

1. Two members of the band began the group's career as two Sweet Children.
2. They have collaborated with many music superstars, and have done covers (live and recorded) of bands from The Who to Queen, via John Lennon and more.
3. On one album, one song showed a fondness of cross-dressing.

I've tried to make them obscure, but they're known enough that I'm positive someone will get this. Thanks for reading "A Lesson In…" this week, and I hope you're all enjoying it. If there's anything you think I should change in the way I present this, any suggestions are completely welcome. Of course, if you like the columns so far, reading that is just as welcome! Regarldless, I hope I'll see you all in class next week.