Rise Against - TheSufferer and the Witness(tour edition)

Thu 4th Oct, 2007 in Music Reviews

One of the greatest punk records of the past year just became even better with the release of this tour edition, just in time for the bands appearance on the annual Taste of Chaos tour. What’s awesome about this edition is it still includes the – œbonus track’ Boy’s No Good, found on the original release, along with another previously unreleased track, three live cuts and an acoustic rendition of Everchanging.

“This is noise,” a male voice authoritatively states during the opening bars of Chamber The Cartridge before pick scrapes pave the way for Tim McIlrath ’s gritty vocals to grind in. It becomes apparent virtually immediately that Rise Against have taken a step back from the slicker, poppier sounds of their major label debut, Siren Song of the Counter Culture, and headed back to their punchier sounds heard on Revolutions Per Minute.

Ready to Fall was chosen as the lead single, probably due to its extremely catchy chorus and slick sound. This track is probably the closest the album comes to sounding like Siren Song…

McIlrath often uses song to teach issues of social justice or to take on the persona of a father reflecting on a life long lost. Perhaps having a young daughter of his own has been his inspiration, Bricks preaches ideals of teaching children the love-not-war concept while Prayer of the Refugee is of a proud immigrant father telling his son stories of better times but promising to make his own way again.

Rise Against have never been considered pioneers of their genre, their melodic-hardcore mix a style that has been attempted by both peers and predecessors, their point of difference noted in their ability to perfectly blend a sound that is raw yet manages to implant itself firmly in your memory. Occasionally they do resort to pulling out the clichéd – œbreakdowns’ that almost every hardcore band considers to be an essential ingredient, and the formula almost always follows a verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus format.

Just past the halfway mark, The Approaching Curve softly strums out into an almost completely spoken-word track about two young lovers breaking up, reflecting on the façade that was their relationship. The story goes seemingly unfinished, implying the girl contemplates crashing the car but not explaining if she does or not. Worth Dying For follows on, and appears to be an elaboration of the suicidal thoughts of the girl, overpowered by rage and desperate for the pain to end.

Roadside reveals a side of Rise Against previously unseen. Think one clean electric guitar and a small backing orchestra and throw in a guest appearance from Emily Schambra of fellow Windy City rockers Holy Roman Empire. Yep, pretty weird, indeed.

Survive leaves you with some words of wisdom and optimism, McIlrath proclaiming “Life for you has been less than kind / so take a number stand in line / we’ve all been sorry, we’ve all been hurt / but how we survive is what makes us who we are.”

But Tonight We Dance is the first bonus track (not counting the cover of Lifetime’s Boy’s No Good found as a – œbonus’ on the original release), a raw cut written during the Sufferer… sessions. Add to this some blistering live versions of Like The Angel, State of the Union and Dancing in the Rain and an acoustic Everchanging, there really is no better time than now to be making sure you add this album to your collection.