Rise Against – The Sufferer & The Witness

When some bands go into the studio, that’s all you hear about. Every week there’s a hundred updates about the little mishaps that happened while recording, you hear how the songs are turning out, you hear what else needs to be done before the record is done, you get little snippets of songs, video footage and basically, every where you turn, there’s something about that band in the studio. Rise Against did the opposite of that. Instead, they silently ended their touring schedule, went into the studio for a few months and made maybe three updates throughout the entire thing. Seven months later, yes, only seven, the CD was released and the band back on the road where they wanted it. And while the release of The Sufferer & The Witness came as a surprise to some people due to the lack of updates, they were sure glad to have new material from the band; and once again, Rise Against doesn’t disappoint as they give their fans easily one of the best records of the year.

Going back to the Blasting Room with Bill Stevenson and Jason Livenmore, Rise Against have returned to their harder roots ala Revolutions Per Minute release compared to the slightly more polished Siren Song Of The Counter Culture, and I could not be happier. Lyrically, and musically, The Sufferer & The Witness is a surprisingly dark, melodic hardcore record. Heavy drumming, solid guitar riffs and breakdowns all topped off with Tim’s signature and perfect vocals.

Every single song on the album is decisively Rise Against but all with a brand new feel to it. They are all insanely catchy, with a chorus that pulls you into the song instantly, while being the furthest thing from pop imaginable. It is emotional without being whiny and it is solid punk rock. Injection attacks the listener with double time beats and gang vocals in the background with a tight musical landscape in true Rise Against fashion. Even the unorthodox songs like The Approaching Curve, which is a spoken word song with an insanely intelligent lyrical buildup for an unimaginable climax, and the slow Roadside, with guest vocals from the Holy Roman Empire‘s Emily Schambra, violin and piano parts, still somehow have the same intensity and power that the harder and faster Rise Against tracks have. Lyrically, McIlrath has once again proved his genius and political insight on The Sufferer& The Witness. Everything from the buildup in The Approaching Curve to Injection which is, in most likely hood, about Terri Schiavo, shows his skill with the English language.

What more can be said about this album? It is an album for Rise Against fans to devour and enjoy, and will be in countless year end lists, including mine, at the end of the year.