Terrible, overproduced and overcompressed smelly piece of turd. This is coming from a lifelong fan. Never been so disappointed in my life. They have gone soft and uninteresting and totally bland in their views and social commentary. There are little to none redeeming qualities here, with Prizefighter being the only interesting experimental piece. This album just screams that something is WRONG and OFF. I will not be returning to this wretched debacle. Please, have some dignity and don’t ... read more
I enjoyed listening to this record much more on vinyl. The songs flow nicely, and all of them are actually memorable; an aspect I hadn’t noticed while listening to the album online. It’s a pity this is their last record; even though there’s not much stoner left, they’re rocking here as if this were a Motörhead tribute band, but with their own edge to it. Ascend the Negative is a banger, the bass is great throughout the entire record, and the energy is definitely ... read more
One of the best live albums ever released. It suffers from not having some of their early bangers on it, i.e., Damage Case and Limb from Limb. There's also only one track from Bomber - come on, if they had included Stone Dead Forever here it would be by far the most enjoyable tune on this otherwise incredible live LP.
This is a really satisfying and well-composed album. I've always overlooked it, and upon listening to it, I have an impression that I like it better than Americana. It has so many great songs, ranging from the depressing anthems Gone Away and Amazed, to incredible, short hard-hitting cuts like the classic All I Want, The Meaning of Life, and Way Down the Line. There are no songs that I wouldn't enjoy here. Obviously, it cannot contend with Smash, but it would be my second choice in ... read more
The worst Rise Against album, and I'm writing this as their lifelong fan. For a long time it used to be The Black Market, but after meticulous analysis, this album is mostly unbearable. All the tracks from Far from Perfect to How Many Walls are just cheesy, uninspired, and most of the time inane and meek pieces of miscellaneous and yet still repetitive garbage. Were it not for the title track, The Violence, and Welcome to the Breakdown, I'd most probably give this album 3/100. ... read more