It's always nice when a band that exhibited incredible promise coming up through indie labels continues to show evolution without distancing themselves from their roots once they've hit major label status. Rise Against continues to prove that a major label doesn't mean shit when it comes to writing their music, which is one of the small reasons I like them so much. That said, The Sufferer and the Witness more or less starts off right where their major label debut, Siren Song of the Counter Culture ended. And it doesn't have shitty artwork that Siren Song of the Counter Culture did! Hooray!
Once you've finished rejoicing over the fact that Rise Against decided not to use clip art to present their new album, you'll pop it in and notice that The Sufferer and the Witness is anything but a far cry from the rest of their material, which is a good thing. They continue to write (mostly) fast, melodic hardcore punk that wouldn't sound out of place in Fat Wreck's catalogue. Whereas their last album had a sound that mixed their own style established on Revolutions Per Minute with a sound more akin to Atlantic-era Bad Religion, The Sufferer and the Witness expands on it a bit, adding a noticeable increase in bass volume that gives some of the songs added kick and heaviness that was lacking a bit on Siren Song of the Counter Culture.
In some respects, The Sufferer and the Witness is faster and heavier than Siren Song of the Counter Culture , but those awesome, soaring choruses that allow Tim McIlrath to show off his vocals are still there along with the tasteful guitar solos, as always. Only two songs fall under three minutes in length, which seems about right at this point as they have slowly evolved from a band with mostly short songs to writing longer, less straightforward tunes. However, the shortest song, "Bricks", sounds like it came straight from The Unraveling or Revolutions Per Minute clocking in at a brisk 1:30 and displaying the speed their older material often consisted of, making it a highlight of the album and one of my personal favorite tracks. Other standout songs are "Drones", which begins with a thundering bass intro and becomes one of the heavier numbers, and "Worth Dying For", a speedy number that initially sounds like a throwback to something from Revolutions Per Minute starts off with the memorable lyric "Set me off like dynamite strapped tight around my waist / We are the ones in competition but claim this ain't no race."
On Siren Song of the Counter Culture, the one song that stood out from the rest of the album was undoubtedly "Swing Life Away", as it was an acoustic song, and predictably appealed to a wide range of people, making it feel like a gimmicky inclusion. There are two songs on Sufferer that sound different from the rest, the first being less-so than the other. "The Approaching Curve" has McIlrath reading a story he had written years ago and decided to adapt into a song. In theory, the idea is kind of cool, but the execution left me not liking it too much. The idea of someone reading over music and then going into a chorus just doesn't appeal to me, and while I think it's great that he decided to try something different, I just don't feel that it works. The Sufferer and the Witness also has a song that could be compared to "Swing Life Away", except that it feels less like a gimmick and more of an interesting experimentation. The somber, bass-heavy composition "Roadside" has McIlrath singing a duet with Emily Schambra of Holy Roman Empire, making for a particularly moving change of pace for the record, but thankfully it fits, unlike "Swing Life Away" on Siren Song of the Counter Culture.
One of Rise Against's most evident improvements since Revolutions Per Minute is their ability to close out their records with an absolute killer final track. Siren Song of the Counter Culture's "Rumors of My Demise" was not only easily the best closing track they've ever written, it's actually one of their best songs, so while I was expecting "Survive" to be along the same lines, I didn't expect it to be as good. Well, I was wrong. The introduction to the final track on The Sufferer and the Witness slowly builds into one of it's best songs, proclaiming that life is anything but "All smiles and sunshine" and is complete with an epic-sounding chorus.
Overall, The Sufferer and the Witness is a worthy successor to the excellent major label debut that was Siren Song of the Counter Culture. Nearly every track is a great listen, though there are a few that don't stand out as much as others, but that's bound to happen on any record.
