April 24, 2001 - Rise Against and The Unraveling

A week after my last release a new band joins my library when Rise Against released their debut album "The Unraveling" on April 24, 2001. But who are Rise Against? They are a four-piece punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois consisting of lead singer Tim McIlrath, guitarist Dan Wleklinski, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against play a mix of super fast hardcore punk songs (there are several songs under two minutes long) and some more accessible punk rock songs. Let's see what Rise Against is all about!

The album kicks off with "Alive And Well" and we hear a voice say "are you ready to rock?!" before Principe starts up a fast bass riff and Wleklinski comes in with some nice typical punk-y guitar. McIlrath sings quickly overtop and his singing voice is pretty good, but he also does a loud yell that's definitely not a scream but it adds a heaviness and energy to things that sounds pretty good. They rip through a couple verses and choruses before Wleklinski plays some slower guitar in a new riff, then it's right back to the main riff to quickly wrap things up. It's a pretty good intro into what Rise Against are all about at this early stage of their career. Up next is "My Life Inside Your Heart" and Barnes plays some catchy, fast drums before they settle into a semi-slow riff (slow for punk) with a decent but simple guitar riff by Wleklinski. McIlrath sounds good singing and yelling overtop and this is definitely one of the more accessible songs with a pretty pop-y chorus. It's still solid and punk-y, but nothing too amazing. Track 3 is a short one called "Great Awakening" and they dive right into a fast and solid main riff with McIlrath pretty much screaming at times. He sounds good the whole way, but I especially love the passion in his near screams. Principe plays some pretty cool bass throughout this short song and even though it was only a minute and a half, it's my early favourite, nicely done! The next track is "Six Ways 'Til Sunday" and it's a pretty typical punk main riff with some fast drums by Barnes and some solid guitar by Wleklinski leading the way. McIlrath sings in a pretty pop-y voice, but he sounds pretty good and his occasional yells spice things up a bit. They eventually shift to everyone chanting the chorus instead of just Tim singing it, and while it definitely has a classic punk vibe, they do this for way too long as they slowly fade out to the end and it drags before the end. Track 5 is "401 Kill" and Wleklinski leads the way with a slow but pretty catchy guitar riff until Principe takes over for the verse with a nice bass riff. McIlrath mixes singing and yelling very nicely and unsurprisingly I like the yelling more. The music is solid but a little repetitive, but McIlrath sounds good in the verse and chorus and he keeps things interesting. A little repetitive overall, but decent. Up next is "The Art Of Losing" and like the other song that was under two minutes, it's because they are firing through verses so fast in this hardcore punk style! Fast everything and some pretty heavy screams by McIlrath make this a pretty cool song and they break it down for a slower, heavier finish that makes this my new favourite so far! Track 7 is only 1:17 in length and it's called "Remains Of Summer Memories". It starts like the others as they fire through some super fast punk, then slow it down for a simple and pop-y chorus. Then they ramp it up with a closing pink verse and that's all she wrote! The next track is the title track, "The Unraveling", and Principe starts us off with a distorted and pretty cool bass riff. They quickly move into a slow but still punk-y main riff with some pretty simple guitar, but the bass continues to sound great in the background and McIlrath sings a solid verse and chorus where he nicely holds some long notes and mixes his singing and yelling really well again. Wleklinski even plays the album's first guitar solo and it's nothing too flashy, but it fits the mood nicely and is a welcome change-up. Track 9 is "Reception Fades" and it starts with someone talking for a short bit, ending with "they're throwing bottles at your house. C'mon, let's break their arms", then they fire into the main riff. It's a solid punk-y main riff and the chorus has McIlrath singing in a more pop-y voice, but things are still at punk speeds and sound pretty good. Wleklinski closes out another short song with some catchy guitar. Up next is another short one called "Stained Glass And Marble" and like the other songs that are less than two minutes this one is a hardcore punk song as they fly through speedy verses. There's some solid contributions from everyone in just a minute and a half, very well done! Track 11 is "Everchanging" and it's easily one of the pop-iest and most accessible songs on the album. Wleklinski plays a solid but repetitive main guitar riff and McIlrath sings with almost no yelling and holds lots of long notes. Things sound solid for a pop-y tune, but I definitely like the more hardcore stuff. This was unsurprisingly a single, though still not a very popular one. The next track is only a little over a minute long and it's called "Sometimes Selling Out Is Giving Up". As you'd guess, it's another super fast hardcore punk song, and as you'd guess, I thought it was good, bit honestly not all that memorable. Track 13 is the shortest song on the album at 1:03 and it's "3 Day Weekend". The first 20 seconds are a slow riff by Wleklinski, then they fire through a few hardcore punk verses for 43 seconds, then it's done! Up next is "1000 Good Intentions" and Principe plays a cool bass riff to kick us off and the rest of the band nicely builds around it. As this album goes, this song is over three minutes, so it's a slower, more pop-y song. McIlrath sounds a little whiny on this one, but the music is pretty catchy the whole way though. Track 15 is "Weight Of Time" and the first minute is another solid hardcore punk riff. The second minute is much slower but still has some nice harsh vocals by McIlrath. And that's a wrap! The final song on the album is "Faint Resemblance" and it's got a pretty catchy pop-punk main riff that they happily jam out for a bit. Then for the final minute they break things down with a slow but heavy and cool riff.

That is the end of "The Unraveling" and I thought it was a good but not amazing debut album by Rise Against. Of course I like the hardcore punk songs, and these guys are pretty good at many different styles of punk music, but there was nothing on this album that really stood out and made you take notice too much. I look forward to seeing where they go from here!