Review Summary: "Appeal to Reason" may not be smooth sailing, but it doesn't lose sight along the way.
Rise Against meant a lot to me growing up. Much like Yellowcard, I had the pleasure of watching the band sprout before my very eyes. They were one of the first bands I saw blossom into the mainstream.
Appeal to Reason was the first time the world anticipated Rise Against as much as I did. ‘Savior’ took the world by storm invading airwaves across the country. To this day, I still find passerby’s humming the chorus when it occasionally circulates on shopping radio channels. I wanted to like this album before it came out. I downloaded all the singles, tuned in every time they blasted on the radio station, and had the t-shirt. It wasn’t until my first start-to-finish binge that I made up my mind about Rise Against. I heard the rumors they’ve “gone soft,” but I didn’t believe it. “They’ve sold out,” the critics spewed from their high-horse; “they’re boring,” the punks heckled in the background. But that first listen was my wakeup call to Rise Against. That’s when I saw their future.
“We're crashing into the ground as we all fall from grace,” roars McIlrath as Rise Against crashes behind him. From first impression,
Appeal to Reason feels like a normal Rise Against album. The first track hits like a freight train as the band chugs in the back. The drums splash around as the guitars slap listeners in the face with each strum. ‘Kotov Syndrome’ is a fun little number toward the middle with a chunky verse and addictive lead. The sweet chorus gets stuck in your head with “spin out of control” playing on repeat. “A crack in the surface,” swings into ‘Hairline Fracture’ with, “Here I go” dragging us home. Simple riffs and catchy hooks are
Appeal to Reason’s claim to fame. ‘Savior’ makes the most out of the formula with a devastating lead that shreds through the noise with, “And I said “I don’t hate you…” leading to one of the best songs in Rise Against’s arsenal. ‘Whereabouts Unknown’ slams the book shut with an exemplary vocal performance and vicious bridge. The bittersweet, “Cause all is forgiven/If you could just listen,” ends on a heartwarming note.
While so many shine in
Appeal to Reason, it’s because of how blank the canvas is.
Reason begins the formulaic structure of Rise Against albums. While no song is necessarily bad per-se, they all mesh together. It’s hard to tell most songs apart. ‘Long Forgotten Sons,’ ‘The Strength to Go On,’ and so many others crowd the runtime with familiar faces. ‘Audience of One’ falls victim for the same reasons. If it weren’t a single, I would forget it was there. The political message comes across forced, especially during the infamous ‘Hero of War.’ It’s one of those songs I can’t tell if I love or hate. Lines like, “…And I brought home that flag/Now it gathers dust/But it's a flag that I love/It's the only flag I trust,” come off brilliant, but then you have verses like, “They took off his clothes/They pissed in his hands/I told them to stop/But then I joined in,” that seem so ham-fisted. ‘The Dirt Whispered’ is another track I have the same love/hate relationship with. On one hand its creative and different, but with each listen it becomes more ‘meh.’
I always found ‘From Heads Unworthy’ to be massively overlooked. A charging riff opens the song as McIlrath’s angsty vocals threaten to end the status quo. “I'm not after fame and fortune/I'm after you/When I've served my time I swear I/Will come back for you,” gets me every time. I remember hearing it in Street Fighter IV a few years back and it reminded me of how good this song really is. The lyrics are just phenomenal, especially the third verse. I can see why no one paid much attention to it originally. It’s buried in between some filler tracks, but I’d recommend revisiting it.
Appeal to Reason is a lot better than most give it credit for. The sour reception wasn’t without reason (pun intended), but considering where Rise Against was in 2008, I can’t say it was a bad move. Bands always test the water for mainstream attention. Rise Against shouldn’t be bashed for doing the same. It was more of a business decision than a creative one, but it was obviously their time to shine. I enjoyed
Appeal to Reason for what it was. It was a fun easy listen. There wasn’t much substance or any spectacle to
Reason. It didn’t have that sense of urgency like its predecessors did. The commentary was weak and safe than the vicious gnawing we’re used to.
Appeal was a good album that should have been great. It met expectations, which is something Rise Against never does. Instead of meeting standards, I wish they made their own.
Standout Tracks
Collapse
From Heads Unworthy
Savior
Whereabouts Unknown
