wolves rise against

Rise AgainstWolves

EMI
9 June, 2017
rise against wolves
9
RA bite down hard

Rise Against waste no time getting to business. Wolves lunges straight for throat with the opening and title track. Caught up in the lasso of a chorus, and blind sighted by some impressive riff trickery; Wolves is a brutal, yet effective introduction to the album. Hoo boy here we go.

The urgency of Wolves settles for a moment with House On Fire. It’s like a white-flag truce to gather your dead or wounded. Though next up track The Violence sees Wolves once again bare its fangs. The first single from the album’s bite matches it’s bark, throwing guitar, drums and bass from all angles culminating in the final moments “Was it all a dream?” we’re asked. Let’s listen again just to make sure it wasn’t.

Welcome To The Breakdown dwells within the throes of punk rock chaos before gaining its composure in time for the chorus. The brilliant production and expert musicianship see Rise Against take a page from Mary Poppins book, of all people, allowing the listener to swallow these harsh home truths much easier.

The first single from the album’s bite matches it’s bark, throwing guitar, drums and bass from all angles culminating in the final moments “Was it all a dream?” we’re asked. Let’s listen again just to make sure it wasn’t.

After the militant-level aggression and classist beatdown from the album thus far, Far From Perfect brings an important reminder, structured instrumentally to lay bare the message: “We’re far from perfect, but perfect as we are.”  With that re-enforcement we enter Bullshit and within seconds it’s we’re back to stinkin’ reality.

Charging bass and striking vocals of Politics Of Love make it a heavy hitter. If there was any doubt remaining at this point that Rise Against are hook masters, it’s gone with this track.  That said, despite similarities to Love Of Politics, Mourning In America is less impressive, as it edges towards the realm of ‘ballad’.

While usually metaphoric, on this album How Many Walls? could very well be literal. “How many guns til you feel safe, how many times can we watch this story? Vocalist Tim McIlrath questions. The song breaks free in the final moments, powering up to an earth-shaking climax for the album.

With its turf well and truly protected, Wolves withdraws confidently with Miracle. A call to arms, and only appropriate finale to the album. Don’t wait for a miracle people, let’s go out and fix this mess we live in.  

STANDOUT TRACKS: Wolves, Far From Perfect, Politics Of Love
STICK THIS NEXT TO: AFI, Bayside, Billy Talent


Wolves is out now via EMI. 



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