How in gods name do you follow up an album like ‘Revolutions Per Minute’? I’m sure that’s what everyone in the world was asking themselves when Rise Against announced that they had inked a lucrative (I’m assuming, anyway) record deal with Geffen Records and declared that they would be releasing their third album on a major.
Similarly, I’m sure that a slightly smaller number of people were scratching their heads and asking ‘How the hell do you follow up an album like ‘The Unraveling?’ when Fat Wreck put out ‘RPM’ two years ago. The fact is, if you’re as absurdly proficient at writing mind blowing melodic hardcore nuggets as the boys in Rise Against are, then there’s never any need to worry.
‘Siren Song of the Counter Culture’ is, in a fashion, very predictable. If you’re me, it is, anyway. I had a feeling that Rise Against would take their carefully honed sound, and the relative icing on the cake that is Tim McIlrath’s vocals, and polish it, tone it down a little and carefully phase out the ‘pure’ hardcore songs in favour of melodic crowd pleasers. This has, to some extent, happened on the new album but not as much as I had feared. The punch is still there, Tim still spits bile with every line and the guitars still crunch and crackle, though I think I preferred the sound crafted by Bill Stephenson at the Blasting Room on their previous record. Still, ‘Siren Song…’ sounds good, really good.
Opener ‘State Of The Union’ is a slap to the face, that’s for sure. Whereas ‘RPM’ started off with an almost No Use For A Name style drum track and intro, ‘Siren Song…’ almost touches the base marked ‘metal’ as it roars out of the starter gates. Things soon go back to normal, however, with the anthemic ‘The First Drop’. This is the kind of music that would make driving cross country seem like the greatest journey you had ever undertaken, and is enough to get you air drumming from the very first pound of the snare.
‘Life Less Frightening’ again sounds a little like No Use For A Name on the guitar melodies, but with bigger balls and less of the repetitive streak that has plagued NUFAN for the majority of their career. Fourth track ‘Paper Wings’ is an absolute blinder, packed with more guitar flourishes and soaring vocal lines than most bands fit into their whole back catalogue. It almost makes me want to buy a convertible, drop the top down and blast down some empty road somewhere with the wind tearing at my face and the scenery flashing by before you’ve even registered what you were witnessing. This is pure adrenaline in musical form and I for one make no apologies for gushing over it.
The last few tracks drift away slightly, but that doesn’t take anything away from the overall package of this album. The final track couldn’t have been more aptly titled. Many feared for Rise Against when they jumped ship to Geffen, but luckily, to paraphrase that little album closer, the rumours of their demise had been greatly exaggerated, and ‘Siren Song Of The Counter Culture’ is one of the best albums of last year by far.
Ross