Their seventh studio album, The Black Market has seen guitarist Zach Blair win a medal for becoming the first guitarist to feature on three Rise Against albums. It has also seen the band chalk up some of their greatest chart success to date in countries including Canada, the US, the UK and right here in Australia. It’s classic Rise Against stuff – a rip-roaring single, I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore, complemented by what is at its core a strong, mature punk-rock album.
The themes of the album focus more on the internal than the external. For example, I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore captures those moments when you look around you and realise that life isn’t quite what you’d like it to be, and while The Eco-Terrorist In Me looks at the familiar theme of dastardly deeds by corporate thugs, it explores it through the lens of someone examining their involvement in activism.
Fans looking for a balls-out-oh-my-lord-this-is-really-loud record may not have all their hopes and dreams fulfilled by The Black Market. That said, it shows a side of Rise Against we haven’t seen much of before, and the result is an enjoyable record.
BY JOSH FERGEUS
Best Track: I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore
If You Like This, You’ll Like: AGAINST ME!, BILLY TALENT
In A Word: Raw
