Artist Rise Against

Website
Rise Against

It’s easy to write off Chicago-bred Rise Against as just another quasi-political punk band that hit it big after signing to the majors. And although both statements ring true—2008’s platinum-selling Appeal To Reason was a huge commercial success that also pushed the group’s liberal leanings, and 2011’s Endgame follows a similar blueprint—Rise Against has swayed critics by exuding a sense of self-awareness, something that certainly seems lacking among other bands of its ilk. The third song on the record, “Make It Stop (September’s Children),” was written as a statement of support for LGBT rights after the September 2010 suicides of five gay teens. The band’s latest release, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “The Ballad Of Hollis Brown,” is on the latest Amnesty International compilation,Chimes Of Freedom.

Updated 01/17/2012