The Sufferer & the Witness

The Sufferer & the Witness
Studio album by Rise Against
Released July 4, 2006
Recorded January–April 2006 at The Blasting Room, Fort Collins, Colorado
Genre Melodic hardcore,[1] punk rock[2]
Length 42:37
Label Geffen
Producer Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore
Rise Against chronology

Siren Song of the Counter Culture
(2004)		 The Sufferer & the Witness
(2006)		 Generation Lost
(2006)
Singles from The Sufferer & the Witness
  1. "Ready to Fall"
    Released: October 2006
  2. "Prayer of the Refugee"
    Released: December 6, 2006
  3. "The Good Left Undone"
    Released: June 25, 2007
  4. "Behind Closed Doors"
    Released: 2007
  5. "The Approaching Curve"
    Released: 2008
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AbsolutePunk 86%[3]
AllMusic [2]
Alternative Press [4]
The A.V. Club B[5]
Entertainment Weekly B+[6]
PopMatters 8/10[1]
Punknews.org [7]
Q [8]
Rolling Stone [9]
Sputnikmusic 5/5[10]

The Sufferer & the Witness is the fourth album by American punk rock band Rise Against. The album 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. It is their final studio album on Geffen, and the last to feature guitarist Chris Chasse. It sold 48,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #10 on the Billboard 200.[11] The album has been certified gold by the RIAA and platinum by the CRIA. It remains the only Rise Against studio album with a parental advisory sticker on it.

Writing and production

After the success of their major label debut, Siren Song of the Counter Culture, and its single, "Swing Life Away", Rise Against returned to the studio in January 2006 to record their fourth studio album.[12] The band had been writing songs and ideas during the Siren Song of the Counter Culture tour and had completed five songs by early December 2005. Also in December, it was announced that Bill Stevenson would produce the upcoming album at the Blasting Room studio in Fort Collins, Colorado.[13] Pre-production began in January 2006 in Chicago.[12] The album was recorded at the Blasting Room with producers Bill Stevenson and Jason Livermore for 12 weeks between January and April 2006.[14] The band talked about the sound and release date of the album in April, saying, "We're pretty excited and can't wait for you to hear it. You won't find any acoustic guitar on this one, but perhaps a few other surprises and curveballs await your curious ears...look for an early summer release."[14] The album's name was revealed in the same news release; it would be titled The Sufferer & the Witness.[14] The album was mixed by Chris Lord-Alge in Los Angeles, and production was completed in April 2006.[15]

In the album's liner notes, there is a recommended reading list, which includes Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn, Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Loewen, Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, and Ishmael by Daniel Quinn.

Reception

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 reached at the time. Their highest charting album, Endgame, which was released in 2011 reached number 2 on the same chart.[16]

The album received positive reviews, Corey Apar of AllMusic described the album "one shout-along, mosh-worthy song after another". He praised the music's "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", the hugely popular "Prayer of the Refugee", "The Good Left Undone", and "Behind Closed Doors" earned Rise Against its heaviest airplay to date.[2] The song "Under the Knife" appeared in the soundtrack for the 2008 Box office hit film Never Back Down.[17]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Tim McIlrath, all music composed by Tim McIlrath, Joe Principe, Brandon Barnes and Chris Chasse.

No. Title Length
1. "Intro/Chamber the Cartridge"   3:35
2. "Injection"   3:19
3. "Ready to Fall"   3:47
4. "Bricks"   1:30
5. "Under the Knife"   2:45
6. "Prayer of the Refugee"   3:21
7. "Drones"   3:01
8. "The Approaching Curve"   3:44
9. "Worth Dying For"   3:20
10. "Behind Closed Doors"   3:15
11. "Roadside"   3:21
12. "The Good Left Undone"   3:01
13. "Survive"   3:40
Total length:
 42:37

Personnel

Rise Against
Additional musicians
  • Chad Price (of ALL) – Backing vocals
  • Emily Schambra (of Holy Roman Empire) – Backing vocals
  • Andrea French - Cello
Artwork
  • JP Robinson and Todd Russell – Art Direction and Album Design
  • Andrew Zbihlyj – Illustration
  • Stacie Stevenson – Photography
Production
  • Bill Stevenson – Producer, engineer
  • Jason Livermore – Producer, engineer
  • Andrew Berlin – Additional engineering
  • Johnny Schou – Additional engineering
  • Chris Lord-Alge – Mixer
  • Ted Jensen – Mastering
  • Thom Panonzio – A&R
  • Evan Peters – A&R Coordinator
  • Andrew Berlin, Christopher Jak, and Johnny Schou – Piano arrangement
Management
  • Missy Worth – Management for Artistic License
  • Corrie Chiristopher – Booking Agent for The Agecy Group
  • Marlene Tsucii – International Booking Agent for Creative Artists Agency
  • Paul Orescan – Marketing
  • Stacy Fass – Legal
  • Cliff Feiman – Production Manager

Charts

Album
Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 21
Austrian Albums Chart[20] 75
Canadian Albums Chart[21] 5
German Albums Chart[22] 77
Swiss Albums Chart[23] 98
UK Albums Chart[24] 171
US Billboard 200[21] 10
US Billboard Digital Albums[21] 10
US Billboard Rock Albums[21] 2
US Billboard Tastemakers Albums[21] 3
Singles
Year Song Chart Position
2006 "Ready to Fall" US Modern Rock Tracks 13
"Prayer of the Refugee" US Modern Rock Tracks 7
Canadian Hot 100 21
2007 "The Good Left Undone" US Modern Rock Tracks 6

Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Australia Gold[25] 35,000
Canada Platinum[26] 100,000+
Germany Gold[27] 100,000+
United States Gold[28] 800,000+

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rausch, Will (2006-07-20). "Rise Against: The Sufferer and the Witness". PopMatters.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Apar, Corey. "The Sufferer & the Witness - Rise Against". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Beringer, Drew (2006-07-03). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness - Album Review". AbsolutePunk.
  4. ↑ Heisel, Scott (2006-07-04). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & The Witness". Alternative Press.
  5. ↑ Ryan, Kyle (2006-07-19). "Rise Against: The Sufferer & The Witness". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  6. ↑ Greenblatt, Leah (2006-07-28). "The Sufferer & the Witness Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  7. ↑ Aubin (2006-07-04). "Rise Against - The Sufferer & the Witness". Punknews.org.
  8. ↑ "Rise Against - Sufferer & the Witness CD Album". CD Universe. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  9. ↑ Hoard, Christian (2006-06-26). "Rise Against: The Sufferer & The Witness : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2012-12-08.
  10. ↑ Davey Boy (2008-06-19). "Rise Against - The Sufferer and the Witness (album review)". Sputnikmusic.
  11. ↑ "Cash Earns First No. 1 Album Since 1969". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Aubin (January 30, 2006). "Rise Against begin work on new full length". Punknews.org. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
  13. ↑ Saitowitz, Paul (December 9, 2005). "Punkers Rise Against beat the odds". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Rise Against finishes mixing, promises no acoustic guitars, surprises for next album". Punknews.org. April 19, 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  15. ↑ "Rise Against Finish Album". Aversion. April 20, 2006. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  16. ↑ "Cash Earns First No. 1 Album Since 1969". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
  17. ↑ "Never Back Down (2008) - Soundtracks". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2011-08-06.
  18. ↑ "The Sufferer and the Witness". Rate Your Music. December 9, 2005. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  19. ↑ "Australian chart positions". australian-charts.com.
  20. ↑ "Austrian chart positions" (in German). austriancharts.at.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 "The Sufferer & the Witness - Rise Against". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "German chart positions" (in German). musicline.de.
  23. ↑ "Swiss chart positions". hitparade.ch.
  24. ↑ "Chart Log UK: The Rabble Army - RZA". zobbel.de.
  25. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2014 Albums". Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
  26. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Certification". Canadian Recording Industry Association.
  27. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  28. ↑ "RIAA Database Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America.