Appeal to Reason (album)

In July 2006, Rise Against released their fourth studio album The Sufferer & the Witness, which became their first album to chart within the top ten on the Billboard 200. To promote the album, Rise Against embarked on an extensive tour that concluded at the Jingle Bell Rock festival in December 2007. That month, the band members reconvened to begin writing and demoing songs for their next album Appeal to Reason. According to bassist Joe Principe, Rise Against recorded Appeal to Reason over a two-month period starting in January 2008, which was the longest the band had ever spent on one album. Livermore wanted to include soft tones to many of the songs, such as using an EBow on "Whereabouts Unknown", to elicit a darker feel to the music. For the more aggressive songs, the band members used several amplifier combinations, such as a Bogner and a Marshall Kerry King head. Appeal to Reason was the first Rise Against album to feature guitarist Zach Blair, who joined while the band was touring in support of The Sufferer & the Witness. According to Blair, "I wanted to go in as, If you listen to every record this band (Rise Against) had out, you could tell that Zach Blair played on this record". He took influence from how Nels Cline sounded on the album Sky Blue Sky when he joined Wilco. Blair was already well acquainted with Stevenson before joining Rise Against, as he and Stevenson were in the band Only Crime from 2003 to 2007. Stevenson helped Blair replicate the sound of past Rise Against guitarists. ==Musical style and themes==

For Rise Against, Appeal to Reason marked a musical shift to a more accessible sound, with greater emphasis on production value. while John Hanson of Sputnikmusic said that the album is "'appealing' to a larger audience than old fans will be comfortable with". Bill Stewart of PopMatters disagreed with these sentiments, writing: "Appeal to Reason is a Rise Against album. If you possess more than a passing familiarity with the band, I wouldn't even bother scrolling through the rest of this review, and I'd certainly avoid checking out the rating at the end of it—because that first sentence, for better or worse, says everything that needs to be said about this album." Critics have characterized the album's music as melodic hardcore, with influences of pop punk. In regards to specific tracks on the album, AllMusic states that Rise Against "rages against the moral decay rotting the core of the U.S. on the opening 'Collapse (Post-Amerika),' just as they strike out against the slow dumbing down of America on 'Re-Education (Through Labor)'". In addition to political topics, more personal issues constitute a large portion of the lyrical content. "Savior" is about forgiveness and broken relationships, Bassist Joe Principe said, "The political side of this band is just that -- it's a side. There are political lyrics. There are social awareness and there are lyrics about the environment. I think if people take the time to read the lyrics, they'll know we're not strictly force feeding you our politics." The album includes one acoustic song, "Hero of War", which is about an Iraq War Veteran looking back on his war experiences. It is described by Rolling Stone as an "ambivalent aggro-folk track". McIlrath said of the song, "I wanted to take the perspective of 'What is the war going to be looked back on as?'" In another interview McIlrath stated, "It was a way to document what's going on, like other artists documented for their generation and for generations to come." He went on to say, "There are not many songs...talking about what's going on during eight years of occupation in Iraq. That, combined with meeting active soldiers and retired soldiers at our shows and hearing those stories about what is going on on the ground amid all the bullshit, showed me the differences from what is really happening to what is happening in the news media. I just thought that this needed to go into a song." ==Release==

Appeal to Reason was released on October 7, 2008. In the United States, the album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making it Rise Against's highest-charting album at the time. The album sold 64,000 copies in its first week of release, and by December 2010, it had sold 482,000 copies. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in July 2021, denoting shipments of 1,000,000 copies in the United States. Appeal to Reason was also a commercial success internationally. In Canada, the album reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, Rise Against's first album to do so. All three singles charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number three, four, and three respectively. "Savior" in particular, held the record for the most consecutive weeks spent on both the Hot Rock Songs and Modern Rock Tracks charts, with sixty-three and sixty-five weeks respectively. Accompanying music videos were shot for all three songs. The video for "Re-Education (Through Labor)" features the Chicago sect of the Moped Army planting and detonating bombs throughout the city. The video garnered controversy, as some viewers saw this as an act of condoning terrorism. Rise Against then co-headlined a 2009 tour with Rancid throughout the summer months, which was followed by a short tour of the United Kingdom in November, supported by the bands Thursday and Poison the Well. Some of the 2009 performances were recorded and compiled in the 2010 DVD Another Station: Another Mile. These performances were interspersed with interviews of the band members about the process of recording an album. ==Critical reception==

Appeal to Reason received a score of 65 out of 100 on Metacritic's average of ten professional reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Rolling Stone magazine commented on the band's further emergence into the mainstream with Appeal to Reason, and wrote "Rise Against may be nervous about leaving the underground behind, but with sharp songs like these, they're ready for the rest of the world." Appeal to Reason also had less positive reception, with most negative reviews criticizing the band's further movement into the mainstream. Entertainment Weekly commented: "Songs like 'Re-Education (Through Labor)' and 'Entertainment,' which seeks to redress the evils of media manipulation upon the land, are peppy but pretty empty, power-chord downers with little bark or bite." PopMatters said "McIlrath rarely reaches beyond his one-note vocal performance despite apparent and commendable earnestness". The review further chastised Blair's formulaic three-chord guitar playing through the album. ==Track listing==

All lyrics written by Tim McIlrath; all music composed by Rise Against. {{tracklist {{tracklist {{tracklist ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Appeal to Reason. ;Rise Against • Tim McIlrath – lead vocals and rhythm electric guitar • Joe Principe – electric bass guitar and backing vocals • Zach Blair – lead electric guitar and backing vocals • Brandon Barnes – drum kit ;Additional musicians • Matt Skiba – guest vocals on "Hairline Fracture" • Chad Price – backing vocals ;Production • Bill Stevenson – producer, engineer • Jason Livermore – producer, engineer • Andrew Berlin – engineer, additional production • Evan Peters – A&R coordinator • Felipe Patino – additional engineering • Lee Miles – additional engineering • Chris Lord-Alge – mixer • Keith Armstrong – assistant mixer • Nik Karen – assistant mixer • Brad Townsend – additional engineering • Ted Jensen – mastering • Cliff Feiman – production manager ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==