Rise Against‘s rise to prominence since the major-label release of ‘Siren Song of the Counter Culture’ has confused many. Even though they continually espouse views that are very rarely associated with majors, the fact that ‘Siren Song…’ was so utterly brilliant silenced many of the doubters more concerned with what t-shirt they’re not allowed to wear any more than actually listening to some ace music. So with this in mind they’re re-releasing their début album ‘The Unravelling’ via Fat Wreck – lets be honest, if this was simply a money spinner they’d have bunged it out on some Dreamworks imprint with shimmering guitars and Rick Rubin at the helm. But no, it’s on Fat, and producing ubergod Bill Stevenson has his fingers on the levels. So its hardly going to be rubbish, is it?
What’s most obvious is that everything sounds like its been dusted off and polished – but not too much. The inimitable anger and passion of opener ‘Alive and Well’ sounds simply fantastic with a bit more meat on its bones, and all the best moments of RA’s first assault on the world sound excellent given a new lick of paint: ‘Six Ways Til Sunday’, ‘Great Awakening’, ‘Stained Glass and Marble’…all sound like they’re being played through slightly better gear just that little bit tighter. Which, given that this is a reissue, is probably the point.
If you’ve got the original version of the album then the inclusion of new (old) tracks ‘Join The Ranks’ and ‘Gethsemane’ are hardly going to be the clinchers in deciding whether or not you’ll be purchasing this. Truth be told, they’re pretty good but not quite essential enough to justify splashing out. However, if you’re one of the many people that didn’t know that Rise Against had a third album or even if you just haven’t got round to tracking ‘The Unravelling’ down, then this is a worthy investment. The production tweaks are all in line with RA’s trademark gritty, hefty sound and the songs themselves stand up on their own after five years of ripening. Just listen to the growled “Are you ready to rock?!” on ‘Alive and Well’ and tell me that you don’t want to stand, legs slightly apart and index finger RAISED TO THE SKY. All new bands listen up: if your début isn’t as good as this, then back to the drawing board you should go.
Ben
www.riseagainst.com
www.fatwreck.com