rise against the sufferer and the witness cover

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.

They continue to write (mostly) fast, melodic hardcore punk that wouldn't sound out of place in Fat Wreck's catalogue. 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. And it doesn't have shitty artwork that Siren Song of the Counter Culture did! Hooray! 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. 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.

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 – The Sufferer and the Witness - Geffen, 2006

Rise against the sufferer and the witness cover