American music has a long-history of social commentary. The music of Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival is just a part of the musical voice of a generation during the Vietnam War.

America is at war again. Though contemporary music has dabbled, no artist can yet claim to be a voice of the generation in the same way as Hendrix or CCR.

Rise Against wants to be that voice of the current generation, and after five albums, they’ve come pretty close.

The band’s near-perfect 2003 album “Revolutions Per Minute,” established the band’s focus on social issues, political issues and cataclysmic human relationships. “Appeal to Reason” shares the same intensity, but carries on the overall sound of the mainstream-tailored “The Sufferer and the Witness.”

“Appeal to Reason” is much more consistent in song quality than previous albums. Rise Against is now more effective at keeping the slower tunes melodic. However, none of the tracks on the album surpass “The Good Left Undone” as a true-to-the-band single.

New guitarist Zach Blair might prove to be the band’s best guitarist yet. While most bands are usually troubled by revolving band members, Rise Against has actually managed to keep things fresh by changing lead guitarists on almost every album.

Fans of the band’s older material enjoy instant mosh-pit inducing tracks like “Collapse,” “Long Forgotten Sons,” “Kotov Syndrome” and “From Heads Unworthy.”

The first single, “Re-Education,” feels like a rehashed version of the first single on the previous album, “Ready to Fall.” The song is actually one of the weaker tracks on the album and gets old very quickly.

Though Rise Against already burst the acoustic-bubble with the hit “Swing Life Away,” the band manages to make a less catchy but much more powerful attempt at the style. The acoustic track “Hero of War” is the most emotionally charged track on the album.

The lyrics are based on the experiences of real American soldiers and make a very strong point against the ironies of military service. Frontman Tim McIlrath sings, “We marched and we sang/ we all became friends as we learned how to fight.”
Though “Appeal to Reason” is another fantastic Rise Against album, the band may never be able to best “Revolutions Per Minute.”
But that’s not bad news. If the band continues to pump out quality albums like this, they will get closer and closer to becoming the musical voice of this generation.

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