Whoo. I don’t want to jinx it, but 2008 has already been way better than 2007 ever was. It’s got a long way to go to keep that title, but considering all the horrible crap I had to suffer through last year, it shouldn’t be too hard. Oh, and we finally get Brawl, so 2008 FTW.
Complainey pants aside, it’s a new month, and that means it’s time for me to blab on shortly about a band that I like. We’ll start 2008 off right, with a band that is made up of neither cartoon characters nor 50-plus-year-olds. That band is Rise Against, and honestly, I don’t know a whole lot about them so this should be short.
I’d heard of the band a couple years ago when The Tall One started listening to them, but never really caught on myself. It wasn’t until late last year when Guitar Hero 3 was released, that I decided to look more into the band. Their song “Prayer of the Refugee” appears as a bonus track in GH3, and it quickly became one of my favourites to play, despite some tricky chords. The next step was obviously to go and check out some of their other music, and that was a realy good idea. I downloaded their most recent CD, The Sufferer and the Witness and I can’t think of any other word to describe it than “exemplary”. It’s truly a great CD; all the songs are great, and there’s plenty of distinction between each. The lyrics are inspired and paint vivid pictures, and some of them might even make you think. It’s great stuff, and I have since bought a legitimate copy. Because that’s what people do when they like things.
I guess one of the things that really drew me into Rise Against is that they remind me of Story of the Year. SotY struck me right away, and they remain one of my favourite bands (anxious for that third album), and I guess that the similar styles and themes between the two bands kind of gives Rise Against an extra push towards my favour. The song “Bricks” actually reminds me a lot of Bad Religion too, and I like to believe that’s a pretty high compliment. It’s short but it’s pretty awesome.
That about all I have to say. It’s not the end though! I’ve taken the liberty of putting an MP3 here for you to download and enjoy. It’s called “The Approaching Curve” and it stands out from the rest of the tracks on The Sufferer and the Witness because the “verses” are all spoken. It’s a pretty cool song, one of those ones that really encourages you to pay attention to the lyrics. Good stuff.