Rise Against "Wolves" Album Review

By: James Southworth
Rating: 4/5 Stars

It's crazy to think that it's been 16 years since Rise Against's debut album released. This punk/rock and hardcore outfit has been putting out albums for a long time. I didn't get into them until "Endgame" came out. Ever since I heard that album, I've gone back to their other releases and have been hooked on them ever since. This band knows how to make effective political and relationship charged tracks. They also know how to make a chorus that gets stuck in your head. I think RA lost that sense somewhat on "The Black Market"; it wasn't a bad album by any means but it didn't have quite the punch some of their other releases offer. The band's newest album, "Wolves", is a welcome return to their more intense roots, while effectively adding in their more radio-friendly current sound into the mix.

This album opens with a bang in the title track. This is easily one of the best tracks on the whole album, as everything about it feels aggressive. Zach Blair's guitar riffs hit hard, and Tim McIlrath's vocals teeter between singing and screaming. The lyrics on this song are rebelliously fun in nature as Tim chants, "We are the wolves at the gates/Our numbers growing every day, yeah/But you can't fight us all no". The band certainly wastes no time in establishing that this album will be full of songs against political power, and it's nice to see the band proposing that everyone come together and fight corruption instead of dividing. That's something that I've always appreciated about this band; they never completely identify as liberal or conservative. In fact they seem to be against the idea of divisive politics entirely. "The Violence" is one of Rise Against's strongest and most thematically resonating tracks to date. The subject matter of this song still gives me chills as Tim asks whether humanity is inherently good or if we can't avoid violence. This song feels hopeful as Tim pleads with us to try and be good enough and come out of our state of being ignorant to the horrors happening around us. This song is important for America in the heightened state of violence it is in now. That makes this song a huge and important moment in context of the whole album.

"Welcome to the Breakdown" feels like a song that could easily fit onto one of the band's earlier, more hardcore infused albums. It's an absolute delight to listen to as the guitars and drums unleash. The intense nature of this song is also fitting for the lyrical content of the track which discusses the chaos of living under a corrupt president: "When we all go deaf in the chamber of echoes/Cheering the missile parade/Agreeing to let all the banks rob the people/Together we circle the drain". Tim's screams in this track only serve to make it even more enjoyable to listen to. "Far From Perfect" is a  bit of a different track for the band as they experiment with a pop/rock sound. It actually works for this song, though, as Tim acknowledges how our imperfections actually make us works of art. This message sounded a bit cheesy to me at first, but as I listened to the song and how the lyrics played out the song grew on me a lot, and I now find the message to be very touching and genuine. "Politics of Love" does a good job at doing what the title of the track implies: putting politics and love together. It's an interesting concept that the band has done before, but it works particularly well on this song, especially with all the visual imagery that Tim describes.

"How Many Walls" is easily the best track on this whole album. The song is absolutely intense and angry in all the right ways. This track can be easily seen as an attack on Trump, and I certainly believe that is part of its intent. But this song also serves as a criticism for the government as a whole, as Tim points out that the people are coming to a breaking point with how much corruption they can take: "How many walls can you put up?/How many guns 'til you feel safe?/How many times can we watch this story over, and over, and over again?/How many years have we wasted counting the lies that we've been fed?" I passionately resonated with the lyrics of these songs, as they feel like things that need to be said. Tim's screaming in this track is unbridled, and the guitar and drum work goes to heights that the band has not gone to before. The chorus to this song is undeniably catchy and memorable, which only helps to bolster the lyrics. This is one of RA's best songs to date, and it's one of the best songs of the year so far. "Mourning in Amerika" does a great job at emulating the confusion and hysteria that America is in currently. "Miracle" is a purely hard rock track with a surprising breakdown near the end that put a smile on my face. This track is another major highlight as Tim implores us to stop waiting for things to happen and instead try to change the world for ourselves. This song ends the album on a hopeful note that we can indeed come up against the powers that be and leave an impact.

There are a few weak points in this album. "Bull***t" is the weakest track, as it panders to a lot of what makes for a generic radio rock song. The gang vocals are a little cheesy, and the lyrics aren't necessarily interesting, especially with the track's name being repeated over and over again. The song is really more annoying than anything, and is one track that I actively skip now. "House On Fire" didn't particularly intrigue me as a single, and it's become less interesting over time. RA has made better relationship-centric tracks than this. Also, the song comes across as cliched as it is about a volatile relationship, and I've heard this theme done in better ways. "Parts Per Million" tries to combine politics and love, but it doesn't come across that well in comparison to "Politics of Love". The song also feels like it adheres to the typical Rise Against formula: fast paced verses, with a slow-building chorus.

Overall, Rise Against have delivered yet another great product in "Wolves". This album really surprised me with how intense it was, as I was expecting this to follow in "The Black Market's" footsteps with delivering something more radio-friendly. Instead, the band decided to take a risk and go back to their more intense sound, and it makes for a refreshing listen in a year where a lot of mainstream rock bands have decided to go more pop friendly for whatever reason. "Wolves" warrants a lot of replays, as many of the songs are just solid and fun to listen to, and there is a lot of important subject matter to digest. Don't miss out on listening to this album!

Favorite Songs: "How Many Walls", "The Violence", "Welcome to the Breakdown", "Miracle", "Wolves", "Far From Perfect"
Least Favorite Songs: "Bull***t", "House On Fire", "Parts Per Million"