Rise Against: The Black Market

Here it is finally, yet again one horribly subjective album review. Of one of the bands of my holy trinity (the others being Nightwish and In Flames), I'm not sure they could do an album I wouldn't like. This time I had my expectations low, because I knew beforehand this was going to be an album with 'personal themes'.

(Warning: This Is A Very Long Review! Proceed With Caution)

Rise Against's last two albums, Endgame and Appeal to Reason were both very political, and I loved them precisely because of that. I think when I first started to listen to Rise Against I didn't really have a clear political stand on anything (although I was obviously raised in a rather liberal household), and it somehow resonated really well with the path I was just finding for myself. I felt like it was part of my identity.

I admit that I was a bit scared I wouldn't get any political songs, but it was a senseless fear - no matter what, they are probably incapable of that. There are still themes like that, in many songs, it's just not the main focus of the album.

On the other hand, when I though about it, I always say my favourite song of theirs is Swing Life Away. Which is possibly the most simple ballad about a very simple but extremely important thing. My default mode is kinda moody, for which I listen to symphonic metal. For my even moodier days, of which are plenty, I listen to melodeath. Political punk rock energizes me in an angry-let's do it way, but it's always good that there's the raw personal punk rock which can sometimes make me happy and give me hope. For all the beauty and otherworldliness there is in all the other kinds of music I listen to, I appreciate the from-my-heart moments of punk rock. It's my happy music.

Rise Against always starts off their album with a pretty high-charged song, but with the exception of Chamber the Cartridge and Architects I could never really get into them. When I started listening this time, my expectations were instantly thrown - for fifteen seconds, The Great Die-Off sounded way different than usual. No strong guitar, not even drums - on the contrary, it opened with some violins. (String instruments are my kryptonite.) It soon picks up to be the usual fast-paced commentary though - and satirical punk rock is also a big favourite of mine. (Although this song is no Architects.) I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore was their lead single, which must have been a wise choice, as it really is one of the most mainstream-ish songs on the album - incredibly catchy, and overall relatable. I think I remember Tim McIlrath saying this was supposed to be a positive song about getting out of a bad place - and lines like 'And something has to die to be reborn' do seem to prove that, but the song still makes me sad a little bit, there's desperation and just a little less hope in it for a happy song. That's not to say I don't like it.

Tragedy + Time - I don't even know where to start. It might not be revolutionary but very few things are these days. In fact even the song itself is pretty formulaic in composition, but how the lyrics change and the verses come after one another are just the kind of songwriting which always gets me, and Tim McIlrath is very good at it. It's a lot more hopeful than the previous song - if you started to feel a bit bad after the first two songs, this is sure to pick you up. It does pick me up - I absolutely love this song. I'm pretty sure lots of people feel like it describes their feelings perfectly, but that doesn't stop me from still feeling like it's so incredibly me.

The eponymous song, The Black Market, would tell me the purpose and underlying theme of the album, if I hadn't read an interview previously, since everything is written down here, sometimes almost word to word. I really like it when my favourite songwriters write about what songwriting is like for them. I do believe that for a person who takes their art seriously, the process of creation can reach so deep into their soul, they might get afraid of never getting out. The next song is entirely different, it seems like despite everything, they can't let go of the things that really matter to them (and I'm a happy fan because of that). The title of The Eco-Terrorist In Me is pretty self-explanatory, and that one line, 'When it all comes down, will you say you did everything you could?' really sticks. It's obviously not always about the environment, but I might be better encouraged to always turn off my desktop lamp (which I almost never do at night-time). Sudden Life is still a bit weird to me - I don't really understand what it's about, it's nice enough, but nothing prominent.

A Beautiful Indifference is a completely different matter - it's definitely one of the most remarkable songs on the album from a fairly objective standpoint. The lyrics are on-point, and it's a lot more powerful than This Is Letting Go, which has a similar underlying theme of, well, letting go. It's also a lot richer, also touching on the unperfectness of all people, including ourselves. I feel like Methadone has the potential to be very well liked, but for me it's just like Savior - a love song everyone seems to love but me. Even though otherwise it really appeals to me, these kinds of lyrics don't make much sense to me. I like Zero Visibility a lot more - I'm still in the process of making sense of it entirely, but I just love the chorus and the general rhythm of the song (although I think it could have been a little rawer, with even more powerful guitars and a little more shouting, but I realize that isn't really their style anymore).

Awake Too Long somehow sounds very typical Rise Against to me. After and during my numerous re-listens of the album I realized that lot of Rise Against songs only grow on me with time (like Disparity by Design and Endgame of the previous album), and that this might be one of those songs. I'm way younger than the guys in this band, and I'm still familiar with that feeling which sometimes overwhelms you, that some things are just never going to get better in the world. When you concern yourselves with so many things going on in the world - which are all so important - sometimes you can really feel too tired, maybe even more so when you're one of those people who are trying to make a difference, 'but through it all, every single cut I’ve been awake'.
And then... I admit that I'm a huge fan of any of their ballads; in my eyes, they are all masterpieces. I had cried countless times when listening to Hero of War. And when I listened to People Live Here - 'cause when we're all just ghosts', that's when I teared up. It's so incredibly beautiful, and the fact that they manage to write songs like these about very gripping issues makes me love the band as people more than any other band I listen to. I imagine them playing this live with a single acoustic guitar, but I have to admit that I love the violin in it. It's simply the most emotional instrument ever, and I feel like it really adds to the song.
Bridges is the usual fast-paced 'end song' - I find it less meaningful than Endgame, but I didn't like that one first either. And the music after two and a half minutes seriously made me addicted to this song - it's so not punk rock, but I love it so much.

So I wrote punk rock is my happy music, but in my interpretation, this isn't really a happy album. It's raw and sometimes painful, but in the end I think it made it real to me. Maybe because emotionally, right now I'm not at my best, but this fact probably made me like the album more than I normally would have. I do think it's less impactful than my favourite Rise Against albums, but I as I had written, I liked many things about it. And as usual, the more I listen to it, the more I understand it, the more I love it. This is why no matter what, they are one of my favourite bands.

My top 3 picks: Tragedy + Time, A Beautiful Indifference, People Live Here