Rise Against — Appeal To Reason

There's one thing Rise Against have always been good at: creating radio-friendly hits that still maintain the angst that makes them a punk band. Appeal To Reason is no different. They go through 13 extremely catchy tunes in 48 minutes. All the songs fall between 3:05 and 4:13 (three tracks are all at 4:02 oddly enough), which may lead you to think that every song is the same. Fortunately, they aren't. "Whereabouts Unknown," a surprisingly heavy closer, and the acoustic "Hero Of War," for example, are polar opposites. Despite a new guitarist, Appeal To Reason still contains anthem-like choruses and memorable guitar melodies. Rise Against may be on a major label and have an album full of single-worthy songs, but Appeal To Reason is still a catchy punk effort. Stop complaining that they sold out and enjoy the tunes. They're damn good.

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