The Sufferer & the Witness

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Untitled

The Sufferer & the Witness is the fourth album by American punk rock band Rise Against. The album was released on July 4, 2006. It was their second release on major label Geffen Records, following 2004's Siren Song of the Counter Culture. It is their final studio album on Geffen, and the last to feature guitarist Chris Chasse. It sold 48,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #10 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA and platinum by the CRIA.

Background and production

In August 2004, Rise Against released their major record label debut album Siren Song of the Counter Culture.[3] Although the album sold poorly for the first six months,[4] it became a sleeper hit in the United States, and peaked at number 136 on the Billboard 200.[5][6] The album's second single, "Swing Life Away", helped broaden Rise Against's mainstream appeal, with its acoustic sound and optimistic lyrics in stark contrast to the band's typical hardcore music.[5] To promote the album, Rise Against embarked on an extensive touring schedule that concluded in December 2005.[7] The next month, the band reconvened, and began work on their fourth album The Suffer & the Witness.[8]

During the recording sessions for Siren Song of the Counter Culture, the band members were dissatisfied with producer Garth Richardson, as he did not fully understand their musical background in punk rock. Richardson was better known for his work with heavier sounding bands like Mudvayne and Rage Against the Machine, and as a result, the album sounded more polished and heavier than Rise Against's previous unadulterated material.[9] Combined with the numerous distractions and inconveniences that plagued the recording sessions, lead vocalist Tim McIlrath views Siren Song of the Counter Culture as the album that "got away from us".[8][10] When it came time to record their next album, the band decided to return to Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore, who produced their second album Revolutions per Minute in 2003. The band developed a strong rapport with the duo while recording that album, particularly Stevenson, whom McIlrath described as their "musical soul mate".[4]

By December 2005, the band had written five songs for The Suffer & the Witness.[7] The rest of the songs were written in January 2006, in a practice space in West Side, Chicago.[11] McIlrath noted that the band procrastinated writing the songs for several weeks, leaving them with only a three week period in which to write the entire album.[8] The band was not affected by this added pressure however;[8] according to McIlrath: "It went great, the songs just flowed out of us. There were really few questions and the song lyrics would just come out of us, it went really well and everyone really liked them."[11] Unlike the stressful recording sessions for Siren Song of the Counter Culture, the band had a much more enjoyable time with The Suffer & the Witness, as they no longer sought approval from Geffen Records.[11]

Composition

Music

With The Sufferer & the Witness, the band actively sought to return to their punk roots. McIlrath commented: "It's definitely more of a punk rock record...We haven't 'grown or matured' as such, we've just really executed what we've been trying to nail with the last few records."[12] Critics have characterized the album's music as punk rock, hardcore punk and melodic hardcore.[2][13]

Lyrics

"Prayer of the Refugee"
Much of the lyrical content on The Sufferer & the Witness discusses societal issues. For example, "Prayer of the Refugee" is about forced displacement and the strife of refugees.[2]
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Much of the lyrical content on The Sufferer & the Witness is about social and political issues, namely injustice.[1] The lyrics often discuss these topics in general terms however, instead of delving into the specifics.[14] According to McIlrath: "I think that a lot of the problems we deal with today in the world are the ones that have been plaguing society for centuries and probably will be here a hundred years from now...There's a bigger picture than just the Bush administration and specific problems of 2006, and I want people to relate to that, even if they're listening to it 10 years from now."[14] This style of songwriting is seen in the opening song "Intro/Chamber the Cartridge", which rallies against apathy toward societal issues, and "Bricks", which deals with war and resistance in universal terms.[14]

Another major lyrical theme revolves around the concept of self-reflection.[14] "Worth Dying For" is about the frustrating search for a worthwhile cause, while "The Approaching Curve" and "Roadside" discuss the impact of troubled relationships.[1] Some songs on the album use metaphors to further the lyrical narrative. "Injection" compares an everlasting love for someone to pharmaceutical drugs,[15] while the bar fight setting in "Behind Closed Doors" demonstrates man's inhumanity to one another.[1][9] Despite the grim subject matter, the album's lyrics are often hopeful in nature.[1][13] This is best exemplified in the final song "Survive", with its uplifting and motivational lyrics that deal with "the reality that life sucks, but we must move on".[1][16]

Release

The album's title, The Sufferer & the Witness, relates to the concept of cause and effect; it is intended to make the listener contemplate how their actions may affect someone else in the world, and how these actions make the listener an unintended witness to another person's suffering.[8]

McIlrath performing with Rise Against during the 2006 Warped Tour in Vancouver

The Sufferer & the Witness was released on July 4, 2006.[2] In the United States, the album entered the Billboard 200 at number ten, and sold 48,000 copies in its first week.[17] It spent twenty-seven weeks on the chart, and by August 2006, sold over 140,000 copies.[6][18] It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in August 2008, denoting shipments of 500,000 copies.[19] In Canada, the album debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart, and was certified platinum by Music Canada, denoting shipments of 100,000 copies.[20][21] The Sufferer & the Witness was Rise Against's first album to chart in territories outside of North America, reaching number twenty-one in Australia, number seventy-five in Austria, number seventy-seven in Germany, number ninety-eight in Switzerland, and number 171 in the UK.[22][23][24][25][26] The album was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association and Bundesverband Musikindustrie, denoting shipments of 35,000 and 100,000 copies in Australia and Germany.[27][28]

Three songs from The Sufferer & the Witness were released as singles: "Ready to Fall", "Prayer of the Refugee", and "The Good Left Undone".[29][30][31] All three singles charted on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number thirteen, seven, and six respectively.[32] Accompanying music videos were shot for all three songs.[33] The "Ready to Fall" video deals with themes of animal rights and deforestation, and uses footage from the 2005 documentary film Earthlings.[33] In the video for "Prayer of the Refugee", the band performs in a retail store, with intermittent shots of foreign workers making the store products.[34] By contrast, the video for "The Good Left Undone" does not have a political message. It features the band performing underground in the dirt, and was their first video to use computer graphics.[33][34]

Rise Against supported the album with The Sufferer & the Witness Tour throughout the second half of 2006 and all of 2007.[35] The band was a headliner for the 2006 Warped Tour in North America,[36] and in late 2006, the band co-headlined a tour with Thursday which included the bands Circa Survive and Billy Talent.[37] While on the Warped Tour, author and filmmaker Davy Rothbart recorded several of the band's live performances, and interviewed some of their fans. This footage was used in the Rise Against DVD documentary Generation Lost, released in December.[38] The following year, Rise Against participated in Taste of Chaos 2007,[39] and supported My Chemical Romance as openers on the first half of their arena tour.[40]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk84%[41]
AllMusic[2]
Alternative Press[42]
The A.V. ClubB[43]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[44]
PopMatters[1]
Punknews.org[13]
Rolling Stone[45]
Sputnikmusic[16]

The Sufferer & the Witness received critical acclaim.[46] Corey Apar of AllMusic described the album "one shout-along, mosh-worthy song after another". He praised the music's "sincerity and passion" and described it "maturing within the realms of major-label hardcore revivalism, while still remaining relevant and exciting". Davey Boy of Sputnikmusic noted that it was the first album he ever gave a 5/5 rating to, stating that "Possibly the best thing about it is how Rise Against have achieved the difficult task of not selling out their origins, yet furthering all facets of their music to become a little more mainstream."[47]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Tim McIlrath; all music is composed by Tim McIlrath, Joe Principe, Brandon Barnes and Chris Chasse

No.TitleLength
1."Intro/Chamber the Cartridge"3:35
2."Injection"3:19
3."Ready to Fall"3:47
4."Bricks"1:30
5."Under the Knife"2:45
6."Prayer of the Refugee"3:21
7."Drones"3:01
8."The Approaching Curve"3:44
9."Worth Dying For"3:20
10."Behind Closed Doors"3:15
11."Roadside"3:21
12."The Good Left Undone"4:10
13."Survive"3:40
Total length:42:37
UK Bonus Track[48]
No.TitleLength
14."Built to Last" (Sick of It All)1:53
Australian Edition
No.TitleLength
14."Boy's No Good" (Lifetime)1:18
LP and Australian Tour Edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."But Tonight We Dance"2:48
Australian Tour Edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Like the Angel" (Warped Tour 2006 version)3:08
18."State of the Union" (Warped Tour 2006 version)2:40
19."Dancing for Rain" (Warped Tour 2006 version)3:28
20."Everchanging" (Acoustic version)4.21

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[23] 75
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] 5
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[24] 77
Swiss Albums (Swiss Hitparade)[25] 98
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 171
US Billboard 200[6] 10

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Rausch, Will (July 20, 2006). "Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness". PopMatters. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Apar, Corey. "Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness". AllMusic. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Loftus, Johnny. "Siren Song of the Counter-Culture - Rise Against". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Rosen, Steven (November 11, 2014). "Tim McIlrath: 'I Never Had a Very Careerist Attitude Towards Rise Against's Music and Message'". Ultimate Guitar Archive. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b Everly, Dave (March 28, 2014). "They shall overcome". Metal Hammer. Archived from the original on March 6, 2017. Retrieved May 10, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ a b c "Rise Against – Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Saitowitz, Paul (December 9, 2005). "Punkers Rise Against beat the odds". The Press-Enterprise. Riverside, California. p. AA15.
  8. ^ a b c d e Paul, Aubin (December 6, 2006). "Interviews: Tim McIlrath (Rise Against)". Punknews.org. Archived from the original on November 14, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b Hiatt, Brian (July 13, 2006). "Rise Against: Punk Rebels". Rolling Stone. No. 1004/1005. pp. 26–30. ISSN 0035-791X.
  10. ^ Pierson, John (August 22, 2016). "Episode 21 - Rise Against's The Sufferer And The Witness". Podomatic. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  11. ^ a b c Koczan, J.J. (July 5, 2006). "Rise Against: Interview with Tim McIlrath". The Aquarian Weekly. p. 1. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  12. ^ Murfett, Andrew (December 1, 2006). "Politically motivated". The Age. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  13. ^ a b c Paul, Aubin (July 4, 2006). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness". Punknews.org. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  14. ^ a b c d Mervis, Scott (July 27, 2006). "Rise Against Rises To The Occasion". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. p. W-15.
  15. ^ Maldonado, Paul, Jr. (August 31, 2007). "CD Reviews". The Albuquerque Tribune. Albuquerque, New Mexico. p. C4.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b Boy, Davey (July 19, 2008). "Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Billboard 200". Billboard. 118 (29): 50. July 22, 2006.
  18. ^ Rohan, Kohli (August 30, 2006). "Soundscan Results: Week Ending August 27th, 2006". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "RIAA – Gold & Platinum: Rise Against Certifications". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  20. ^ a b "Rise Against – Chart history: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  21. ^ "Gold/Platinum". Music Canada. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  22. ^ a b "The ARIA Report" (PDF). ARIA Charts. July 10, 2006. p. 5. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness" (in German). austriancharts.at. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  25. ^ a b "Rise Against - The Suffer & The Witness". Swiss Hitparade. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  26. ^ a b "Chart Log UK". zobbel.de. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  27. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2014 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platinum-Datenbank" (type Rise Against in the bar labeled "Interpret", then search) (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  29. ^ "Ready to Fall" (Media notes). Rise Against. Geffen. 2006. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  30. ^ "Prayer of the Refugee" (Media notes). Rise Against. Geffen. 2006. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  31. ^ "The Good Left Undone" (Media notes). Rise Against. Geffen. 2007. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); templatestyles stripmarker in |title= at position 1 (help)CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  32. ^ "Rise Against Album & Song Chart History – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  33. ^ a b c Garner, George (February 15, 2015). "The Ultimate Rise Against Videography". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on April 7, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ a b Kim, Dave (September 23, 2012). "10 Best Rise Against Songs". WGRD-FM. Archived from the original on March 11, 2015. Retrieved June 5, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ "Rise Against Keep On Fightin' The Man". Chart Attack. July 4, 2006. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  36. ^ Bronson, Kevin (May 18, 2006). "Still finding things to get angry about". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
  37. ^ "Circa Survive, more dates added to Thursday/Rise Against tour". Alternative Press. August 16, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  38. ^ Fuoco, Christina (November 14, 2006). "Band gets 'cool' perspective on loyal fans through new DVD". The Flint Journal. Flint, Michigan. p. D06. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  39. ^ Winterford, Brett (October 19, 2007). "Taste of Chaos Tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  40. ^ Harris, Chris (December 18, 2006). "The Parade Begins: My Chemical Romance Announce U.S. Tour Dates". MTV. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  41. ^ Beringer, Drew (July 3, 2006). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness". AbsolutePunk. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved June 16, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  42. ^ Heisel, Scott (July 4, 2006). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness". Alternative Press. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  43. ^ Ryan, Kyle (July 19, 2006). "Rise Against: The Sufferer & The Witness". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 8, 2012.
  44. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (July 28, 2017). "The Sufferer & the Witness". No. 888. Entertainment Weekly. p. 67. ISSN 1049-0434. Retrieved December 8, 2012. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  45. ^ Hoard, Christian (July 13, 2006). "Rise Against: The Sufferer & The Witness". Rolling Stone. No. 1004/1005. p. 103. ISSN 0035-791X. {{cite magazine}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  46. ^ Iwasaki, Scott (November 7, 2008). "Rise Against is rising on charts". Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. W14.
  47. ^ "Review: Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness | Sputnikmusic". www.sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  48. ^ Apar, Corey. "Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness [UK Bonus Track]". AllMusic. Retrieved June 17, 2017.
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