Continuing my series on enlightening you readers to the various musical artists in the world is this segment on Rise Against. Now I imagine that many of you might know Rise Against as they're a somewhat well known US rock band. But for those out of the country or unaware, this might be interesting to you. I promise I'll get to weird and obscure bands and singers in the following posts in the series. You'll just have to bear with me as I get through some of the more well known bands. I will not cover the likes of say Evanescence or Linkin Park or Sara Bareilles as well...to be fair I think most people know them by now, not much to discover.
Continuing on before my little rant explodes into some random tangent, Rise Against is originally from the Chicago area and formed in 1999, although that's just information I took from Wikipedia. As you might imagine I wouldn't talk about them if I didn't find them interesting. As of this post, they've released 4 major albums which are, in order of release: Siren Song of the Counter Culture, The Sufferer & the Witness, Appeal to Reason, and Endgame. (They released two indie albums previously) All four albums are quite similar in tonal quality with a focus on relatively common punk rock sound. There are a couple of exceptions obviously as you'll find in 'Swing Life Away' which is from Siren Song for the Counter Culture.
So why do I find them more interesting than say, The Killers or Good Charlotte? Well for one, the sound that comes out of Rise Against is a lot more raw. The sound is less tempered by electronics and seems more natural. Second they don't rely on power chords and really tacky rock tropes to push their music forward. Notice I say rely, they still exist, just not as much. Third, for those who are big into animals, the majority of their members are PETA members. While I don't often agree with PETA, their intentions are at least in a good place generally. This reason in particular is interesting in that it affects some of their lyrics and music videos, which is definitely something to check out. For examples of their more activist themed songs/music videos, check out 'Make it Stop' and 'Savior'. In the latter, their comical use of people in animal suits is heavily tempered by the lyrics of the song itself. Another disclaimer, that video even though it's an official video has some pretty crap-ass audio, so if you've got decent headphones, you might not wanna listen to it.
Personally, I admire bands that can stick to a particular sound. As much as it's awesome to hear artists explore different genres and different styles, sometimes more of the same can be just as good and that's generally what I get out of Rise Against. Really clear vocals and powerful instrumentals that don't take no for an answer. Unlike my post on Ellie Goulding, all four albums are pretty accessible and they're definitely a band you should check out if you have the time. As always enjoy your stay here and stay tuned for more musical discoveries.
--CsMiREK
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