Endgame (Rise Against album)

Untitled

Endgame is the sixth studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against. Produced by Bill Stevenson, it was released on March 15, 2011. Rise Against began work on the album in September 2010, after completing touring in support of its previous album, Appeal to Reason, in mid-2010. The first single from the album, "Help Is on the Way" debuted on KROQ and KKDO on January 17, 2011, and was released on the band's MySpace and digital media outlets on January 25, 2011.

Background and recording

Following the commercial success of the band's fifth studio album, Appeal to Reason, and the subsequent touring to support the album, Rise Against entered The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado (the same studio where all their albums, except The Unraveling and Siren Song of the Counter Culture, were recorded) in September 2010 to begin recording their next album. Rise Against finished recording the album in January 2011, after they recorded some last minute guest vocals for the album.

The album deals with "the end of humankind as we know it," with lyrics that, as usual, address world events and politics—including Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. According to McIlrath, although the lyrics discuss grim topics, they actually take on a positive view and were written from the perspective of, "What if the place on the other [side] of this transition is [a] place we'd all rather be living in?" Although Spin Magazine labeled Endgame as a concept album and suggested that it may be largely influenced by the Dixie Chicks, on January 7, 2011, McIlrath tweeted a clarifying message stating that "the record is not a concept record and, fret not, has absolutely nothing to do with the Dixie Chicks."

Promotion and release

In a question and answer session with the Chicago Blackhawks, McIlrath stated that the album would be released in March 2011. On January 12, 2011, Interscope announced the release date of Endgame as March 15, 2011, followed with an announcement the next day by FMQB that the first single from the album, "Help Is on the Way," would be officially released on January 25, 2011, although it premiered on the radio station KKDO, as their featured song on a segment called "New Music Heaven" and also on KROQ, on January 17 at 5 p.m. PST.

Endgame was released in Australia on Friday March 11, 2011.

"Help Is on the Way" was officially released on iTunes and other digital media outlets on January 25, 2011.

In order to promote the album, Rise Against will play a show in London on March 16, 2011. In addition, Rise Against are playing two South American shows in Brazil and Argentina in late February and a run of European shows in March. After touring South America, and Europe, Rise Against will be back in the United States in April. Bad Religion (who once toured with Rise Against in 2004) and Four Year Strong will be supporting this tour.

Critical Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk.net	(78%)
Rock Sound	(9/10)
Alternative Press	(4/5)
BLARE Magazine	(3.5/5)
CultureTease	(7/10)
Kerrang!	(4/5)
IGN	(9/10)
Crave Online	(5/10)
SPIN	(5/10)
Rolling Stone	(3/5)

Early critical reception to the album has been mostly positive, with the band praised for polishing the musical style from Appeal to Reason. Thomas Nassiff says "Rather than returning to their old form, the band solidifies an evolved style with this record." Rock Sound's review called the album "bona fide awesomeness". Although many critics have praised the polished sound, some critics feel as if Rise Against have gotten to far away from their punk roots. Kenny Herzog was critical about the single "Architects" saying "as soon as frontman Tim McIlrath bridges the half-time breakdown of "Architects" by earnestly imploring, "Don't you remember when you were young / How you wanted to set the world on fire" (echoing Against Me!'s "I Was a Teenage Anarchist" almost word for word), the singer-guitarist just sounds like he's trying to win back an ex-girlfriend."

Track listing

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

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Architects"	3:42
2.	"Help Is on the Way"	3:57
3.	"Make It Stop (September's Children)"	3:55
4.	"Disparity By Design"	3:49
5.	"Satellite"	3:59
6.	"Midnight Hands"	4:18
7.	"Survivor Guilt"	4:00
8.	"Broken Mirrors"	3:55
9.	"Wait for Me"	3:40
10.	"A Gentlemen's Coup"	3:46
11.	"This Is Letting Go"	3:41
12.	"Endgame"	3:24

iTunes Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Lanterns"	3:49

Australian/New Zealand Edition Bonus Track

No.	Title	Length
14.	"The Good Left Undone" (Live)	3:02

Personnel

Rise Against

• Tim McIlrath – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Joe Principe – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Brandon Barnes – drums, percussion, backing vocals
• Zach Blair – lead guitar, backing vocals

Additional personnel

• Matt Skiba (of Alkaline Trio) - backing vocals on "Midnight Hands"
• Chad Price (of ALL) - backing vocals on "Broken Mirrors"
• Miles Stevenson - backing vocals on "Make It Stop (September's Children)"
• Maddie Stevenson - backing vocals on "Make It Stop (September's Children)"
• Stacie Stevenson - backing vocals on "Make It Stop (September's Children)"
• Tess Young - backing vocals on "Make It Stop (September's Children)"

Production

• Bill Stevenson – production, engineering
• Jason Livermore – production, engineering
• Sean Demey – engineering
• Andrew Berlin - engineering, additional production
• Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
• Ted Jensen - mastering
• Brad Townsend - additional mix engineering
• Andrew Shubert - additional mix engineering
• Evan Hunt - photography

Release History

Region	Date
Australia	March 11, 2011
Germany	March 11, 2011
Poland	March 11, 2011
United Kingdom	March 14, 2011
United States	March 15, 2011