Hey there, planet earth.
This is my second review, and i may as well go along with the trend in regards to starting it, here's the line-up (back then the lead guitarist was Mr. Precision, now i believe it is Zach Blair) of one of the greatest punk outfits in the world.
Back in 2001, Rise Against was::
Tim McIlrath- Vocals & Guitar
Mr. Precision- Lead Guitar
Joe Principe- Bass
Brandon Barnes: Percussion
The year is 2001. A band formerly known as Transistor Revolt had changed their name to Rise Against. Transistor Revolt had released a couple of promising demos and were subsequently signed up to Fat Wreck Chords, on which their debut album The Unraveling was released without too much fanfare. Rise Against however made their big break in 2004 with their third album Siren Song Of The Counter Culture. In 2005, there wasn't too much copies of The Unraveling in stores, so they re-released it in 2005, with two bonus tracks (Gethsemane and Join the Ranks).
So, onto the review.
The Unraveling kicks off with Rise Against showing their brilliant talent for album openers. This one's called Alive And Well and while it's not on the par of Black Masks and gasoline or Chamber the Cartridge, it's certainly very catchy. and seems to be over before you know it. An album highlight is the second track, My Life Inside Your Heart. It's one of the more melodic tracks that has a very... you could almost say poppy intro that draws you into it. it has a beautiful anthemic chorus that is boosted with Joe's cry of "take my hand" behind Tim's enigmatic voice.
The undoubtable strong point of this album is definitely Tim's vocals and songwriting. To put it bluntly, if this guy were to leave the band, they'd be extremely hard-pressed to find another singer of his class. What the songs are written about isn't what you'd call overly original, but being a punk outfit you can't expect them to write about growing up in the 'hood, can you?
While the topics of the lyrics aren't that original, they are extremely well-crafted and well-worded. Six Ways 'Til Sunday, a song about a friend of his leaving him and becoming just a stereotype is a prime example of this. Six Ways has some powerful lyrics with one example being 'You've left me no choice but to choose, I miss the person that you were, but i don't miss you!' Simple, but who in the world can't relate to that situation?
Without a doubt, however, one of the more simply worded songs is the best one on this album. Reception Fades starts off with a quote from a movie called 'Henry Fool', and bursts into this massive intro riff and Tim semi-screaming the verses. Reception Fades is about the writer getting fed up with a relationship he's currently in, and wondering whether it's worth continuing. It is sung with so much feeling and has a brilliant chorus that summarizes the song "Is the best yet to come? Or did it pass by long ago? Are we holding on to a thread? Of something already dead? It also sports one of the best bridges that Rise Against have ever done (which is an extremely high standard IMO) with the song exploding into fury at the other person in the relationship "You can't change your mind! Expect me to care! You can't just snap your fingers and expect me to be there!".
Now, the problem with this album is, that after Reception Fades (Track 9) the quality seems to take a bit of a dip. I think they've thrown a little too much quick songs (songs like Bricks or Dead Ringer from later albums) that are either boring or just plain pointless. Surely they could have cut songs like 3 Day Weekend, Stained Glass & Marble and Remains of Summer Memories. These songs just come off as filler that really isn't needed with an 18-track album.
The 2 b-sides that come as bonus tracks are pretty average too and there really wasn't too much need to throw them on for the re-released album. Gethsemane is plain boring and even though it does have a pretty promising intro, it just sounds like a lot of stuff that's already been made and the screaming gets extremely tedious after a while. Join The Ranks is just another short song. zzzzz.
All in all though, a very very solid debut from Rise Against with patches of brilliance. All that lets this album down in the end is there's a fair bit of filler on it that'll make you want to hit the skip-track button every now and then.
if you're a Limewire thief or you buy the songs off Tunes, and really can't be bothered blowing 20 bucks on a CD, here's the tracks that are must-listens in my opinion
-My Life Inside Your Heart
-Six Ways 'Til Sunday
-Reception Fades
-401 Kill
Cheers for reading.
