Although this, their third release, is Rise Against’s first major label outing, opinions about this album are split between those purists who heard and loved the first two albums and those that know relatively little about the band. For the uninitiated, if a hybrid of hardcore/emo/pop-punk is your kind of thing, judging by this album Rise Against may be just for you. Opener, ‘State Of The Union’, is good old fashioned adrenaline pumped hardcore punk. Dripping with testosterone this blistering screamer is the most political song on the album as they scream “If we’re the flagship of peace and prosperity, we’re taking on water and about to fucking sink”. Nice. Another hardcore gem, ‘The First Drop’ proves singer Tim is more than just a talented screamer - he can clearly sing too. ‘Life Less Frightening’ is a good blend of melodic tunesmanship and hardcore with an infectious sense of urgency.
Later, ‘Paper Wings’ is a sad tale of two people drifting apart underpinned by a fantastic lead guitar riff. ‘Blood To Breed’ is a bitter first person account of lost love that oozes with raw emotion, when Tim yells: “I don’t love you any more, is all I remember you telling me, never have I felt so cold”, you truly feel the pain. ‘Give It All’ and the long-windedly titled ‘Rumors Of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated’ are both passionate, upbeat melodic punk tracks with rousing chorus’ and stunningly great music. On the simple, acoustic ‘Swing Life Away’ the band show another side, yet it doesn't have the weight or driving scope of earlier tracks.
The mix of songs on the album suggests Rise Against are trying to make their music as accessible as possible to as many people. Which is all well and good, but the disappointing thing is that despite seven decent tracks, the rest of the album just melts into one big mass of tracks that are sadly indistinguishable from each another.
