Rise Against :the Band

Rise Against

Rise Against started in 1999 in Chicago. It is comprised of vocalist Tim McIlrath, bassist Joe Principe, Chris Chasse on guitar, and Brandon Barnes on drums. They are considered punk, but also have elements of hardcore and emo. And, rare though it is nowadays, the band writes all their own music and songs.

After the made a demo, they were signed to Fat Wreck Chords. They released their first CD, The Unraveling in 2001. They toured for two years they recorded their second CD in 2002; it is called Revolutions per Minute. After receiving a lot of offers from major labels, the band signed to Geffen/DreamWorks in 2003.

On their new label, they released Siren Song of the Counter Culture. This release cracked the Billboard Top 200. They have also been in the recent movie, Lords of Dogtown, playing a California punk band a doing a cover of Black Flag. A remixed version of the Unraveling was released in 2005.

The members of the band all support various causes. A few of them are straight edge, and all of them are vegetarians. Said Joe Principe, "... We want to show people its okay to voice your opinions ..."

Some of the causes they fight support are fighting racism in punk, animal rights, inhumane electro-shock therapy on patients, and they are very politically involved. They played on this years' Warped Tour, and are planning on touring in Africa to help spread the word on the AIDS epidemic and unfair trade laws.

Said McIlrath, "This band represents what we all believe."

I like the band Rise Against because they play a variation of music. Some songs are fast and upbeat, others slow and depressing. One of my favorite songs of theirs is "State of the Union". The song is very political and almost leans toward heavy metal. "State of the union address, reads war torn country still a mess, the words: power, death and distorted truth, are read between the lines of red whit and blue." I like a fact that a band can make a statement, no matter how controversial. Their music means something, and it means even more to me because they write it. Also, I can relate to the fact that they are vegetarians, and I support animal right just like them. Tim's scratchy voice is very powerful and adds fury to their songs, however, when he sings slow songs, its very mellow

...