Review Summary: Here Lies Rise Against... what a pity.
"what are you talking about? Rise Against cannot be destroyed!"
"Never?"
"Green Day was destroyed"
"The Clash was destroyed"
"The Ramones was destroyed"
"most great bands were destroyed, Why not Them?"
It's a pity to say that Rise Against is starting to become more and more predictable. "yeah, yeah Tim is gonna scream his ass off saying how we need shelter, or singing about how we need to get back home saying she said this, she said that blah blah blah" I Know that Rise is trying to give a message but I feel as though they have already with past albums like "appeal to reason". Find a new story to tell or at least Tell it in a different way.
A lot of the songs on "endgame" sound remotely similar lacking variety, i'd probably think that some songs were connected if there wasn't a gap between them and my iPod indicating what song I am listening to. All of the songs are just Fast-paced drumming, loud distorted guitars, Tim screaming etc. Hmm it seems like the band has fallen into mediocrity. I first caught sign of this in "appeal to Reason" though that album did have variety still.
One of the things I loved about RA is that, though they are a hardcore band, they would always have 1 or 2 soft ballads in their albums. Like "Hero of war" from "Appeal" or how about "roadside"(which even featured a guest vocalist) from "sufferer and witness"? "swing life away" I could go on for a while. My point is that melodic ballads like these are completely absent from this album. It seemed like RA were trying to be more than just a Hardcore band.
The Lyrics are good but I see a similar writing style as to some songs on "appeal".
"I told her she doesn't have to go on anymore, she said i know" - Endgame
"She said i don't hate you but i just want to save you while theirs still something left to save" - Appeal to reason.
"She said" "she said" "she said"... ARRRGH!! Now come to think of it a lot of songs here are similar to song on "appeal". If I hear "Help is on the way" on "appeal to reason" it would not sound out of place. In fact why not name the album "appeal to reason Vol: 2?"
You get the same feel Throughout the entire album. From "Architect" to "Help is on the way" you can kind of see the direction this album is going already. The band does do a great job of providing the concept of, traveling a long journey with a whole group of kids searching for peace. Too bad the road to that journey barely changes.
The album does provide you with some killer tracks. "make it stop" is the anthem to any struggling teenager "Survivor guilt" gives you the rushing excitement other songs fail to do.
*Guitar riff*
"Block the entrances lock the doors!"
"seal the exits cause this is war!"
Caution: do not have any breakable objects near while listening to this song.
Tim hasn't seemed to lost his act for screaming. which is good. But in "Midnight hands" he inserts the screaming pretty randomly, almost like he was desperate for a bridge.
"The sufferer and the witness" was Excellent
"Appeal to reason" was bearable
Endgame - meh
I know that the summary implies that Rise Against is dead. However i don't in fact believe that their dead, just on the verge of dying. If they don't think of something fast. their fans will catch on to their mediocrity.
Top Tracks:
Architects
Make it stop
Survivor guilt
Broken mirrors
