Photo from HEAVY Magazine
In their eighth studio album, released more than ten years after their punk debut The Unraveling, Rise Against traveled back to their roots. Wolves takes a dive back into their punk origins while maintaining their dedication to political messages. Just take a listen to the penultimate track– "How Many Walls."
Before even talking about the lyrics, the song is catchy with jamming instrumentals towards the end. Rise Against rarely gives time in their songs to just enjoy some guitar riffs, which is why songs like "Blood to Bleed" from Siren Song of the Counter Culture are so special, and which is why "How Many Walls" is a rocking tune, even at face value.
But dip even a pinky toe into the lyrics and we're on a different level. The title itself references President Donald Trump's campaign promise of building a wall on the United States-Mexico border, but more deeply reflects building metaphorical walls between friends.
The song opens with short instrumentals followed by the chorus, which asks us,
How many walls can you put up?
How many guns till you feel safe?
How many times can we watch this story over and over and over again?
Lead singer Tim McIlrath is asking the listeners if more guns and a bigger military is really always the answer. Is it worth it to make the same mistake over and over and are these sacrifices for security really worth it? Because at some point we're no longer helping ourselves. We are instead lining the pockets of politicians and large corporations.
The entire album is more hardcore than Appeal to Reason, Endgame, or The Black Market, but worth a listen.
I definitely recommend listening to:
But dip even a pinky toe into the lyrics and we're on a different level. The title itself references President Donald Trump's campaign promise of building a wall on the United States-Mexico border, but more deeply reflects building metaphorical walls between friends.
The song opens with short instrumentals followed by the chorus, which asks us,
How many walls can you put up?
How many guns till you feel safe?
How many times can we watch this story over and over and over again?
Lead singer Tim McIlrath is asking the listeners if more guns and a bigger military is really always the answer. Is it worth it to make the same mistake over and over and are these sacrifices for security really worth it? Because at some point we're no longer helping ourselves. We are instead lining the pockets of politicians and large corporations.
The entire album is more hardcore than Appeal to Reason, Endgame, or The Black Market, but worth a listen.
I definitely recommend listening to:
"Welcome to the Breakdown""Violence" | "Mourning in Amerika""Bullshit" |
Click here to travel over to their YouTube Channel.
Zoe Adler is a music journalist from Long Beach, California. She is the editor and founder of TeenView Music as well as a dedicated musician. She is a summer intern at the Signal Tribune, a local newspaper. She will start at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, in the fall.
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