An incomplete history of Chicago punk rock (vol. 11)

Posted on 20 July 2006 | 5 Comments

Filed Under: Chicago Punk, Punk

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Now we are all aware that the focus of this series is on the history of Chicago punk rock, but with the release of their new album it just seems fitting to focus this volume on Rise Against. Even though they are still a relatively new band, they have already made quite a mark.

Rise Against formed in 1999 from the ashes of the great Chicago bands Baxter and 88 Fingers Louie and burst onto the local punk scene with their Transistor Revolt demo in 2000, and then onto the national scene a year later with their Fat Wreck Chords debut The Unraveling. The record blended Chicago’s emotional hardcore with fast poppy California skate-punk and gave the band an outlet for lyrics demanding political and social change.

The band then released Revolutions Per Minute on Fat Wreck in 2003 before they made the jump to a major label for 2004’s Siren Song Of The Counter Culture on Dreamworks. That album introduced the band to a wider audience, and found them (as on their latest) adding quieter MTV ready songs to their repertoire. Even so, Rise Against still retains the tenacity and energy that made a fan in the first place.

Their latest album The Sufferer & The Witness was just released a few weeks ago and climbed as high as #10 on the Billboard 200. Their sound is a bit more refined and Tim’s vocals might have a little less grit to them now, but (lucky for us fans) the band shows no signs of letting up.

MP3 | Rise Against – Join The Ranks Transistor Revolt
MP3 | Rise Against – Six Ways Til Sunday The Unraveling
MP3 | Rise Against – Anyway You Want It Revolutions Per Minute
MP3 | Rise Against – Like The Angel Revolutions Per Minute
MP3 | Rise Against – The First Drop Siren Song Of The Counter Culture
MP3 | Rise Against – Done With The Compass The Sufferer And The Witness

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