Appeal to Reason (Digital Album)

by

Rise Against

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Rise Against have nailed it yet again with their third major label album. With powerful vocals and a strong political message, Rise Against have created another masterpiece. They definitely aren't afraid to stray a little from their hardcore style and into a slower, more melodic genre, but they also aren't afraid to express their feelings, and express them well.

I give this album 4.5 stars(can't pick it, but 4 is not enough) because RA have only improved from their last release, and improvement is the greatest virtue in a band's music career. However, the only advice I'd have for the band is to not stray too far from their fast hardcore roots. Mid-tempo songs are good, but I have every confidence that RA will speed up their tempos a little on their next release. However, for now, I commend the band because they've still stayed, for the most part, true to their hardcore/punk roots, while also getting great popular reception with Appeal to Reason.

As Rise Against broke the skin of the mainstream some time after the release of "Siren Songs" with the single "Swing Life Away," it appeared, at least to me, like the petty fame that this band had run into would not ultimately be their destruction like it was for basically ever underground band that makes it big. "Sufferer and the Witness," while not as in-your-face as previous releases, still carries the fist pumping anthems that keeps fans of the underground happy regardless of the major label. The sellout whistle was not yet blown, but I think now it has. "Appeal to Reason" proves what I had been trying to deny for the longest time. Fame DOES ruin every band it touches. Rise Against I thought was the exception to the rule, but all that happened was it took a two year transition period. This CD, I hate to say it, was made for the mainstream and for the radio. It's full of big choruses and power ballads. Tim, who I believe once said "We've always written pop songs and we've always written hardcore songs" has managed to write exactly no hardcore songs at all. In fact, he doesn't use his trademark scream even once until the closing track, but instead, emphasizes his capability to hold a note. Now, let me say this, Tim has one of the best voices out there, and his singing is a gem, but one thing that made him special was the ability to go back and forth from singing to screaming at the drop of a hat without taking away from the song or from his voice, and now that's gone.

Instrumentally, we see a lot of the same Rise Against that we've been given before, which is not a bad thing 'cause they never had an issue laying down the catchy hooks and what not. There is a surprising emphasis on bass here which I find nice; the beginning of "The Dirt Whispered" reminds me a little of "Like the Angel"

The lyrics on this CD are half and half. If every song could have been written as nicely as the opener "Collapse" this would be a fantastic CD, hands down. The issue I have is that Tim no longer seems angry anymore about the state of the planet, even though many songs touch on this subject. He used to put the quote in all the booklets that said "If you're not angry, you're not paying attention" but now not even he sounds angry about the problems we face, he just seems depressed about them. The messages of the songs sometimes get lost in the depressing tone, such as in "Long Forgotten Sons" and "Audience of One," both of which I have seen called highlight tracks but neither of which are. Tim only takes two stabs at fast paced punk rock on this CD, one in the opener, which is the best song on the CD and the only one that I would consider to be truly amazing (aside from "Hero of War" but that's for a different reason), and the other is in "Kotov Syndrome," which is not a terrible song but it just seems like they threw it together at the last minute to give the fans something to mosh to. It's kind of like a generic speed song that instrumentally sounds like "Bricks" but isn't nearly as fun or meaningfully.

I used to cite this band as proof that not ever band that makes it big mellows out, and now I can't do that any more. Anyone who thinks that "Revolutions Per Minute" is better than "Prayer for the Refugee" (ie, anyone who has known about this band before they were on a major label) will be disappointed with this album, and rightfully so. They have abandoned what created their original fanbase in return for a larger, more mainstrean one. (I think there's a term for that, but I won't use it 'cause you all know what it is) Overall, only an okay CD, probably 2 and a half stars.

Also, this has nothing to do with the music, but the back of the book has "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices" as suggestive reading, but this CD was available at Wal-Mart, and for less than it was at FYE. Hypocrits?