Album Rating: 2.5

High five

Album Rating: 3.5

*high fives



wait....

Album Rating: 2.5

*awkward silence

Album Rating: 3.5

.....the weather's pretty nice today.....sunny.....

Album Rating: 3.0

yeah. warm.

Someone please explain to me the stupid summary pun.

Album Rating: 3.5

Siren Song > every other Rise Against album

Album Rating: 3.5

@Knott - isn't it just that Appeal to Reason is an album of theirs while Saviour is a song from the album?



I dunno

Album Rating: 3.5

savior* my Canadian-ness is showing

but it has to make sense without capital letters to be a good pun

Album Rating: 3.5

well then I'm missing it too, otherwise the summary is kind of weak....



the review is good though

Album Rating: 4.0

Interesting you think that way SS. I really would not have guessed that and would have thought you would think they are more catchy than you do.



Thanks BigHans. Totally agree on 'Architects'. I'm spinning that on a daily basis & continue to love it. Thought this may have been more up your alley, but a 3.5 is still strong. You are a 'Sufferer' fan, aren't you?



And here come the negative reviews. Told you Trey. Probably needed since the average rating will likely end up around 3.2



It pretty much is Lakes, if a little bit heavier.



ttb, I definitely see the similarities. Wouldn't call it note for note though. Plus, I do think 'DbD' is one of the weaker tracks here. I'm still struggling to get into the closer too, although some around here seem to like it.



Thanks Nag.



Hep, I almost view 3 as a positive rating for you. ;-)



Aids, why mention a positive when it's soooo much easier to rubbish someone.

Must have missed this review. Having listened to this a few times I think it's about on a par with ATR and will probably get the same rating (3) from me, but I'll let it play out a few more times first.

As for the review, well it's definitely ambitious Davey and I'll applaud you for that. It's maybe not as strong as some of your more conventional work and the whole Japan thing does come accross as a little forced, but what do I know? Still, I echo your condolences and agree whole-heartedly that Architects is an awesome track.

Album Rating: 4.0

Thanks Rosco. Appreciate the constructive critism. This is a little more ambitious than my usual style & I have the band to thank for that. I guess it's starting to annoy me a little that people think they are latching on to causes without caring, etc...

Album Rating: 4.0

Ok, let me try to explain the summary.



With a summary, I try to get in as much info as possible (usually under the 75 character limit) which allows it to be seen in the staff box on the front page. Obviously, me being me, if I sneak a clever (puntastic) aspect into it, then I get a free cookie.



As I said in an earlier comment, as obvious as it was in retrospect, the album title 'Appeal To Reason' didn't really resonate with me until much later. The band really are appealing to reason with a lot of their lyrics. Listen to any interview they do & they repeatedly state they are trying to make a difference. You know, "if only one person becomes more aware of a subject after listening to our music & makes a positive difference to the world, yadda, yadda".



That "one person" is the "savior" I am referring to in the summary. Their songs (& videos) have always warned that environmental issues (including natural disasters) are going to destroy this planet if things aren't changed (part of the reason why I kicked off with the timely Japan disaster). So I then linked the "Is there anyone listening" component into the summary... As well as the review with the "are they just hearing what they want to hear" line (which actually has a double meaning, but that's another story).



So yeah: (1) Band is appealing to reason, (2) this album is similar sounding to 'Appeal to Reason', (3) Will people [a savior(s)] make a difference after listening to this album, and (4) are many listeners just "hearing" rubbish radio rock & not even listening to the lyrics.

Do you find summaries hard to write?

Nice rationale, and I get entirely where you're coming from, but I have one issue: tectonic activity isn't our fault. Fuck, sorry. We're not to blame for tectonic activity. How on earth can we stop natural disasters from occurring through appeals to reason and increased awareness? I think the problem I have on the whole is that your introductory paragraph doesn't mention in any explicit fashion Rise Against's political discourse. It doesn't make obvious the link you draw between the two things you talk about.

It's also not very musically-interested but I get the feeling this band is way more politically active than I appreciated so I guess it's fine, but at the same time because of the inherent 'doubt' involved in the summary as you put it in this review, it makes the album sound like a disappointment or a conflicted listen, where the 4 doesn't really reflect that. Like, it sounds as though people aren't gonna bother listening to Rise Against because this album is bad and they still have good messages but Endgame isn't a good vehicle for them or something.

SO yeah, basically I mostly think it's not made clear enough that the summary is talking about Rise Against's political message as opposed to the album's quality or sound.

Album Rating: 4.0

Yeah, a little. Are you suggesting I over-think them a little too much Rosco? LOL.



I usually have the shell of one right from the very beginning though, and the review will flesh out the rest of it.

Not at all Davey, it was more me trying to obtain advice from a seasoned user. I don't think I've ever put that much thought into a summary, usually mine are just copy-pasted from the review itself or are a brief, generic "album is good/bad" type jobby. Other than getting started on a review (my biggest weakness/flaw) I generally find the summary the hardest part to write, and I'm not sure whether or not to contribute that to it being the last thing I write (and therefore having a relaxed attitude towards it as the review itself is done). What are your thoughts/advice?

Album Rating: 3.5

"You've heard 'Sufferer' yeah?"

'haha of course. It's one of my favourite albums.