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Longtime fans need not worry: Uptempo anthems like 'Savior,' 'Kotov Syndrome,' and 'Entertainment' should satisfy anyone still uneasy about Rise Against's radio aspirations.
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There's nothing here you haven't heard before from Rise Against--or, indeed, from Bad Religion before that. But producers Bill Stevenson (of the Descendents and All) and Jason Livermore keep the music moving at a breakneck pace that gives everything the gleam of urgency anyway.
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Rise Against may be nervous about leaving the underground behind, but with sharp songs like these, they're ready for the rest of the world.
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Because of the current pop landscape's shift away from melodic rock it's impossible to tell if Rise Against will ever break out, but it's nice to know that, either way, they're still making aggressive, well structured pop-minded hardcore.
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While it may not be a classic record and won’t be the new soundtrack to the revolution, Appeal to Reason is filled with faux-punk rock anthems and memorable lyrics and basslines that will satiate anybodies need for Rise Against.
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Punk-rockers, like bluesmen, often devote themselves to perpetuating their style rather than transforming it. For Rise Against, that relentless earnestness is both a defining factor and a limitation.
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Alternative PressIt all boils down to the simple question of which songs grab you, so there are certainly reasons to give Appeal a whirl and decide for yourself. [Nov 2008, p.151]
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That's a serious issue on Appeal to Reason; songs like 'Re-Education (Through Labor)' and 'Entertainment,' which seeks to redress the evils of media manipulation upon the land, are peppy but pretty empty, power-chord downers with little bark or bite.
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One just wishes the band did it with a bit more grace and inventiveness than on Appeal to Reason, where straight-outta-the Nation song titles like 'Collapse (Post-Amerika)' and 'Re-education (Through Labor)' disguise some pretty conservative ideas about how modern mainstream punk should sound.
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Like the work of a carpenter who’s learned, through experience, the quickest and cleanest way to get a job done, it’s technically polished and modest in its aims.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 87 out of 94
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Mixed: 3 out of 94
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Negative: 4 out of 94
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BenCFeb 21, 2009
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JoshMJan 2, 2009
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Nov 13, 2015