Rise Against have had to weather the storm. The swirling clouds of pressure aligned themselves purposefully above them, whilst scores of critics could be heard loading their rifles with bullets laced with vitriol and condemnation because of the band’s switch to a major a label. The aim with Siren Song… (and its blasting opening track State Of The Union) was, quite simply, to blow such attacks away. I get the distinct impression that The Sufferer & The Witness was designed as the counter attack.
‘Chamber the Cartridge’ opens the album in markedly less hurried fashion; the first 20 seconds slowly building into the quicker, angrier Rise Against that all love. The anger, though, is slightly tempered by the fact that vocals are produced so that they stray away from ‘gruff’ and into the territory of just ‘aggressive’. To be frank, that’s a pattern for the whole album. Whilst audibly endearing and very easy for anyone new to Rise Against to appreciate, the crucial bite just isn’t quite there.
That’s not to say, however, that this isn’t a standout record. ‘Ready To Fall’ is already causing controversy due to its banned video depicting animal cruelty, and it’s one of the few songs where Tim is allowed to let out a pure, unadulterated and piercing scream. The connection to the video and the band’s politics is obvious, combining to give this song true punching power.
‘Bricks’ is 90 seconds of quick, crunching and uncompromising anger. Again, suffering from a little over production for a song of this nature, it’s not quite as perfect as it could have been, but it still makes its mark. ‘Diaspora’ cries out the fantastically anthemic “Don’t hold me up now, I can stand my own ground, I don’t need your help now”, yet it’s a song built around a chorus, with no lyrical content of worth within the verses; structurally, it’s too predictable. A criticism which can be levelled at several other songs on this album, including ‘Drones‘ – predictable enough to be open, accessible and destined to be popular at gigs, but not quite adventurous enough to develop an absolutely killer style. They are still, however, good enough to stand as sufficient proof that when it comes to the analysing the quicker end of their musical spectrum, Rise Against are still in the leading pack when it comes to writing the songs associated with the poppier end of melodic hardcore.
My final criticism extends towards ‘The Approaching Curve’ and ‘Roadside’: the latter being this album’s ‘Swing Life Away’. They’re not what I’d call ‘bad’, but ‘Roadside’ is laden with enough acoustic clichés to land it into the MTV2 playlist, akin to the mainstream success of the aforementioned ‘Swing Life Away’. Bad? No. Good? Certainly not. But they simply do not belong on a Rise Against album. Weak, tepid and forged completely independent to the Rise Against mould, they should have been left on the cutting room floor.
The length of this review should indicate to anyone who possesses any remaining doubt that I am a fan of Rise Against. I think ‘Revolutions Per Minute’ is a modern classic and that the lesser excellence of Siren Song… is also worthy of credit. ‘Worth Dying For’ and ‘Behind Closed Doors’ are driving, similar tracks which are back to what this album should have been 100% full of. With ‘The Good Left Undone’, ‘But Tonight We Dance’, ‘Survive’ and the brilliant cover of ‘Built to Last’ making an appearance as a bonus track, this album’s ending is one of the finest I’ve heard in a while.
Worth buying for the last few songs alone, this is a mixed effort and probably destined to divide existing fans, whilst inviting in additional ones by the bus load. Of course it’s no Revolutions. I personally never thought that it would be. It is a good record, no doubt about that, but the beast is a different one to a few years ago. For better or for worse.
www.riseagainst.com
Spud