Rise Against
The Sufferer & the Witness

THE REVIEW

Two years after their previous excellent "Siren Song Of The Counter Culture," Chicago's Rise Against return with another refreshing wave of melodic hardcore.

If their previous major debut saw a partial decline in the fast-paced tempos previously used to make way for a noticeable stylistic variety, here they return in a certain sense to the tracks, eliminating those more elaborate structures (see "Dancing for rain" or "Paper wings" from the previous album), to return to a more direct impact.

The album kicks off at full speed with "Chamber the cartridge" and continues wonderfully with one of the best tracks ever penned by them, "Injection," which will have you pressing the repeat button on your stereo with a fearsome riff/refrain combo!

So far, everything's normal, with dynamics, mood, and structures that fans of the group have already learned to know and love, to which "Worth dying for" and the earth-shaking and detonating "Drones" are added to the list, a key track without a doubt, with a particularly inspired McIlrath and particularly sharp guitars supported by good bass lines that make their appearance throughout the track.

If the festive "Bricks" seems to smell of California from every pore and "Under the knife" falls within the classic canons, the most well-known tracks are the two main singles: "Ready to fall" and "Prayer of the refugee," which bring some novelties to the overall palette.

The first of the two, despite having a low cruising speed, is appreciated for the smart choice of creating moments of contrast within the same song, where slower and more melodic parts are used to prepare the ground for sudden explosions in the pre-chorus, where Tim gives his best in the screams.

"Prayer of the refugee," like the touching and introspective ballad "Roadside" (with a female guest vocalist in support and violins), brings that melancholic atmosphere and mood that we had rarely glimpsed in the band's songwriting, only to, like the other single, explode and change pace with fast and driven refrains.

However, the piece that arouses the most curiosity is "Approaching curve" for the singular choice to alternate purely spoken and narrated verses with refrains sung in the classic style.

The album closes with other good tracks, among which "Behind closed doors" is notable, an excellent anthem that will set the pit on fire at their concerts between acrobatic solos and great dynamism and choirs, and a full-throttle anthem like "Survive," in which a really well-done choral part can be noticed halfway through. A sweet up and down, which opens in choruses with an epic flavor.

In summary, it is really difficult for me to put one ahead of the other between this and the previous album, and this is very much at the discretion of the individual listener if they prefer more refined and crafted songwriting or something less elaborate. In my case, the preference leans slightly in favor of the previous one.

What is certain, however, is that Rise Against continue to produce excellent albums and do not disappoint their loyal following around the globe, which, thanks to this latest work, is set to grow.