Endmuffin

Rise Against have been on the scene for over a decade, bringing their brand of punk rock to the masses since 1999. Over the past 12 years, they’ve refined their sound and improved with every release. After 2008’s Appeal To Reason, I didn’t know how they’d be able to top themselves and was afraid they’d become stagnant and complacent in their sound. Boy was I wrong. Endgame not only met but exceeded my expectations.

Using a formula Rise Against fans should know intimately, “Architects” is a wickedly fast-paced punk anthem. Tim McIlrath’s vocals immediately grace your ears, while his and Zach Blair’s work on the guitar is as polished as ever. The low end is handled by Tim’s fellow co-founder John Principe, and his spot on bass performance is still top notch. Rounding out the four-piece is Brandon Barnes who mans the drums perfectly. “Help Is On The Way”, the second single from this album (the first being “Architects”), is one of my favorite tracks. Catchy with a heavy edge, you’ll be singing along to it in no time. “Make It Stop (September’s Children)” caught me very off guard. A children’s choir of sorts opens this track before we get back to McIlrath’s distinctive vocals. Something I’ve always loved about this band is their ability to use simpler guitar riffs in such a way that gives them a nice complex sound. It is incredibly difficult to do, and they’ve mastered it. Track four gives us another speedy punk track with “Disparity By Design”. Tim’s work on the rhythm guitar is complemented nicely by Blair’s lead parts. “Satellite” opens up with a clean guitar part with a simple lead part with just a touch of distortion layered over it, while McIlrath sings out over all of it. I had to do a double-take as “Midnight Hands” opened with what I can only describe as a thrash metal riff.

“Survivor Guilt” gives fans a throwback to an earlier era of Rise Against, as it uses some movie soundbytes to set the tone for the song (see 2003’s Revolutions Per Minute for examples). Track eight, “Broken Mirrors”, has a wicked little swing beat to it with a minor key twist, which makes for a very bluesy sounding song. Things slow down a little more on “Wait For Me”, and even when the pace picks up, it still has a trudging feel to it. “A Gentlemen’s Coup” lets the lead guitar have a little fun, while they play with a little off-beat timing for the verses. This might be my favorite track on the album because of the way they use the lead guitar and the tempo variations. “This Is Letting Go” gets us back to their melodic punk rock style before we reach the final track on the album, “Endgame”. Letting the bass set the pace worked perfectly for this song, and I couldn’t help thinking of the final track of Siren Song Of The Counter Culture (2004), which is to date one of my favorite album closers.

Coming off a success like Appeal To Reason, I was worried that Rise Against would never be able to match it without falling into the trap of releasing what was basically the same album (that’s right, I’m looking at you, Nickelback). However, the punk rock veterans in Rise Against have crafted another masterpiece with Endgame. So, the only question now is how will they top this?