Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness [24.192 FLAC] vinyl

  Genre: Rock
  Styles: Punk, Hardcore, Alternative
  Source: Geffen Records B0006976-01 vinyl
  Codec: FLAC
  Bit rate: ~ 5,500 kbps
  Bit depth: 24
  Sample rate: 192 kHz

  01 Chamber the Cartridge 
  02 Injection
  03 Ready to Fall 
  40 Bricks
  05 Under the Knife 
  06 Prayer of the Refugee 
  07 Drones 
  08 The Approaching Curve 
  09 Worth Dying For 
  10 Behind Closed Doors
  11 Roadside
  12 The Good Left Undone
  13 Survive

  The Sufferer & the Witness finds Rise Against continuing on the path begun on 2004's well-received Siren Song of the Counter Culture. Their melodic hardcore may still sound more mainstream accessible, but this can hardly be looked at as a bad thing. After all, the band's sincerity and passion emerge very much intact - their socially conscious approach no less pressing - and new and old fans alike should take to Sufferer with open arms. With producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore manning the controls this time around, the band's inner grit is aptly drawn out amid all the pit-ready choruses and fist-in-the-air, stirring lyrics. As such, Rise Against continue to muscularly confront political and personal grievances to the tune of swirling guitars, assertive rhythms, and Tim McIlrath's sandpapered vocals. However, "Chamber the Cartridge" doesn't quite open the record with the same acidic bite as past lead tracks, as the chorus is lacking something in its delivery to really hit a nerve. This later happens again in songs like "Under the Knife" and the ferocious-yet-still-slightly-missing "Worth Dying For," but moments like these are, in truth, more the exception than the rule. "Injection" and "Ready to Fall" bring things back into invigorating Rise Against territory early on, while "Bricks" stands out as a vicious blast of old-school hardcore energy and power. This record is basically one shout-along, mosh-worthy song after another, though the guys do throw in some interesting moments outside of continual rushes of pure adrenaline. The excellent "Prayer of the Refugee" jarringly alternates between plaintive guitars and weary singing to an empowered chorus and exploding rhythm section to affectingly address the plight of displaced families of war; the frustrated disconnect distressing a troubled relationship is represented surprisingly well in "The Approaching Curve," with its driving use of spoken word and complementary female backing vocals