Album Review: Rise Against - The Black Market

Seven albums in and you can almost set your watch to a Rise Against album. Killer opening stand – check (The Great Die-Off); double-time mid-album track – check (The Eco-Terrorist In Me); obligatory late-record ballad – check (People Live Here).

Tim McIlrath is at his rabblerousing best, firing up the troops with tales of hope and fear, while the rest of the Chicago four design soaring anthems made for stadiums. The band deliver, always, but rarely does the finished product come with surprises. Still though, when you need a punk rock act to believe in you'd be hard-pressed to find a group that'll fight for you as blindly as Rise Against.