Rise Against is a Punk Rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999 under the name Transistor Revolt. The band was renamed Rise Against before the release of their first album 'The Unraveling' in 2001. Notable in that the band members are all activists of human and animal rights, which is no empty promise. They are all vegans, and live an entirely drug-and-alcohol-free lifestyle*
with the exception of Brandon Barnes
.The band has undergone something of a style shift from their first album to their most recent (Endgame, as of this writing) - from straight Punk Rock to a more mainstream sound, although the social commentary in the lyrics has always remained intact. Opinion is divided on which, if any, is the better sound.
Arc Number: Downplayed unintentionally on Appeal to Reason, in which the final three songs ("Savior," "Hairline Fracture," and "Whereabouts Unknown") all run the same length - 4 minutes and 2 seconds.
Hero of War: the man in the story fails to stop his friends from committing war crimes (which are suspiciously similar to some committed by US troops in a certain prison in Iraq), and then falls to peer pressure and joins in. Later, he ends up killing a woman who was unarmed and holding a white flag. The man ends up going home, broken and defeated, with his love of country tainted by what he's seen in war.
The Approaching Curve: During an argument with the narrator, the girlfriend/wife 'accidentally' drives their vehicle off of a cliff, killing them both.
Hidden Track - There's a a rather faithful cover of "Any Way You Want It", of all things on Revolutions Per Minute, which plays about a minute after the last song ends.
In Memoriam - "Make It Stop (September's Children)" was written to address the growing problem of homophobia, and to honor the memories of those that perished in the September 2010 suicides and those who have committed suicide for bullying, for whatever reasons, throughout time. It even quotes the names of the victims: Tyler Clementi (18), Billy Lucas (15), Harrison Chase Brown (15), Cody J. Barker (17), and Seth Walsh (13). The video makes this even more apparent.
New Sound Album - Starting with Siren Song Of The Counter Culture, they began to ramp up the political tone of their lyrics, while acquiring a more polished, mainstream sound. Opinions on this direction vary, but are generally positive.
Spoken Word In Music - The verses of "The Approaching Curve". They also use clips of dialogue from American Beauty in "Last Chance Blueprint" and dialogue from the film Henry Fool in "Reception Fades".
Also "Roadside" and "Hero of War", though YMMV on whether or not those are too surprising.... "Wait For Me" starts off like this, but gets harder later on.
Take That - Compare the Against Me! song "I was a Teenage Anarchist" with "Architects"
Against Me!: Do you remember when you were young? And you wanted to set the world on fire?
Rise Against: Do you remember when you were young? And you wanted to set the world on fire? Well I still am, and I still do!
"Blood Red, White, and Blue" is a pretty blatant Take That against the Bush administration.
would God bless a murder of the innocent? would God bless a war based on pride? would God bless a money-hungry government? No!
The Other Darrin - There have been four guitarists in the band before Zach Blair. Chris Chasse was the only one to last more than an album (he played on The Sufferer and The Witness and Siren Song).
The Windy City - The home of the band and the setting for their videos. Not that they have any particular affinity for it, a bunch of punk rock terrorists bomb the hell out of it in the video for "Re-Education (Through Labor)"
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