The Sufferer & the Witness

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"Under the Knife" redirects here. For the Nintendo DS game, see Trauma Center: Under the Knife.

The Sufferer & the Witness
Studio album by Rise Against
Released	July 4, 2006
Recorded	January - April 2006 The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
Genre	Punk rock Melodic hardcore
Length	42:51 w/o bonus
Label	Geffen Records
Producer	Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore
Professional reviews
AbsolutePunk.net (84%) link All Music Guide link Punknews.org link Q Rolling Stone link Sputnikmusik link
Rise Against chronology
Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) The Sufferer and the Witness (2006) Rise Against (AOL Undercover) EP (2007)
Singles from The Sufferer & the Witness
"Ready to Fall" Released: 2006 "Prayer of the Refugee" Released: 2006 "The Good Left Undone" Released: 2007 "Behind Closed Doors" Released: 2007

The Sufferer & the Witness is the fourth album by Rise Against, which was released on July 4, 2006. It was their second release on major label Geffen Records, following 2004's Siren Song of the Counter Culture.

Contents 1 Writing and production 2 Reception 3 Track listing 4 Miscellaneous 5 Credits 6 References

[edit] Writing and production

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The Sufferer & the Witness was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado with producer Bill Stevenson. Recording and writing sessions for the album lasted from January to April 2006, booking eight weeks of studio time in which to record it.^[1][2]

[edit] Reception

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion.

The Sufferer & the Witness was released on July 4, 2006 and peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart, the highest position the band attained at the time.^[3]

The album received positive reviews, Corey Apar of All Music Guide described the album "one shout-along, mosh-worthy song after another". He praised the music "sincerity and passion" and described it "maturing within the realms of major-label hardcore revivalism, while still remaining relevant and exciting". The album received a rating of four out of five stars, while "Ready to Fall", "Prayer of the Refugee", "The Good Left Undone" and "Behind Closed Doors" earned Rise Against its heaviest airplay to date.^[4]

[edit] Track listing

1. "Intro/Chamber the Cartridge" – 3:34
2. "Injection" – 3:19
3. "Ready to Fall" – 3:48
4. "Bricks" – 1:30
5. "Under the Knife" – 2:45
6. "Prayer of the Refugee" – 3:19
7. "Drones" – 3:02
8. "The Approaching Curve" – 3:45
9. "Worth Dying For" – 3:19
10. "Behind Closed Doors" – 3:15
11. "Roadside" – 3:21
12. "The Good Left Undone" – 4:11
13. "Survive" – 3:41

• Bonus tracks – vary according to edition
  • "Built to Last" (Sick of It All) – 1:53
  • "Boy's No Good" (Lifetime) – 1:18
  • "But Tonight We Dance" – 2:48
  • "Paper Wings" (Live at the Troubadour) – 3:37 (This song can also be seen live in Rise Against's DVD Generation Lost)

[edit] Miscellaneous

• This is the first Rise Against album to have a Parental Advisory label on some album covers, even though all of their previous albums contain profanity.

• The band recorded the album at The Blasting Room, in Fort Collins, Colorado. This was the same studio in which they recorded their second LP Revolutions Per Minute. On March 13th, 2006, while in Fort Collins recording The Sufferer & the Witness, Rise Against played a secret show at the now defunct nightclub The Starlight.

• On May 13th 2006, an unmastered copy of the album was leaked to the internet, followed a month later by a mastered advance. The leaked version of the album contained the b-side "But Tonight We Dance" which did not appear on the album. Besides the b-side not being included, the title of the song "Done with the Compass" was changed to what is now "Injection" and the song "Diaspora" was changed to "Prayer of the Refugee".

• Some European versions of the album contain "Built to Last" (despite displaying a sticker claiming the bonus track is a cover of Lifetime's "Boy's No Good").

• Australian edition and some European versions actually contain "Boy's No Good".

• The bonus track "But Tonight We Dance" only appears on the LP and the iTunes version of the album.

• In the album's liner notes on the inside of the CD case, there are some books recommended for reading. They are
  • Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  • A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
  • The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
  • Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
  • Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen
  • Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut.

• The female vocalist who is featured predominantly in Roadside as well as in some of the other songs from the album is Emily Schambra, lead singer of Holy Roman Empire and Longdistancerunner.

• The song "Survive" was featured in WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007.

• "Drones" was the theme song for WWE's 2007 Royal Rumble and was also featured in Madden NFL 07.

• The song "Roadside" was featured in the Smallville season 6 episode Trespass.

• In the beginning of "Chamber the Cartridge" the voice saying "this is noise" is the Chicago Transit Authority's automated voice for the Noyes stop on the purple line ("This is Noyes").

• The album was voted the #1 album of 2006 by listeners of the Australian youth radio station Triple J's punk and hardcore program short.fast.loud.

• All 3 singles from this album reached the top 20 on the Modern Rock chart.

• In 2007 "Injection" was used in a Heroes preview commercial.

• "Prayer of the Refugee" is a bonus track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

• As of March 29, 2008, the album has sold 434,490 copies in the US.^{[citation needed]}

• The song "Under the Knife" (from The Sufferer & the Witness) was used in the film Never Back Down.

[edit] Credits

• Tim McIlrath – lead-vocals, guitar
• Chris Chasse – guitar, vocals
• Joe Principe – bass, vocals
• Brandon Barnes – drums

• Chad Price – additional vocals
• Emily Schambra – additional vocals
• Andrew Berlin, Christopher Jak, and Johnny Schou – piano and string arrangement

• Recorded at The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
• Produced and engineered by Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore
• Additional vocals recorded at Resonate Sound, Burbank, California, USA
• Additional engineering by Andrew Berlin and Johnny Schou
• Mixed by Chris Lord-Alge at Resonate Sound, Burbank, California, USA
• Mastered by Ted Jensen at Sterling Sound, New York, USA

[edit] References

1. ^ Rise Against Ready Album. Ultimate-Guitar.com (January 31, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
2. ^ Rise Against Finishing New Album. Ultimate-Guitar.com (April 20, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
3. ^ The Sufferer & the Witness' entry at Billboard.com. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.
4. ^ The Sufferer & the Witness. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-21.

v • d • e Rise Against Tim McIlrath • Zach Blair • Joe Principe • Brandon Barnes Chris Chasse • Todd Mohney • Mr. Precision Studio albums The Unraveling • Revolutions per Minute • Siren Song of the Counter Culture • The Sufferer & the Witness • Rise Against's fifth studio album EPs Transistor Revolt • This Is Noise DVDs Generation Lost Singles "Heaven Knows" • "Like the Angel" • "Give It All" • "Swing Life Away" • "Life Less Frightening" • "Ready to Fall" • "Prayer of the Refugee" • "The Good Left Undone" • "Behind Closed Doors" Concert tours The Unraveling Tour • Revolutions per Minute Tour • Siren Song of the Counter Culture Tour • The Sufferer & the Witness Tour Related articles Discography • Fat Wreck Chords • Geffen Records • Punk scene • Warped Tour • Rock Against Bush Related bands 88 Fingers Louie • Arma Angelus • Baxter • The Killing Tree • Last of the Believers