LOS ANGELES (Geffen Records/ DreamWorks) - The members of
Rise Against aren't packing up the New Year's champagne glasses just yet. The Geffen band is still enjoying the fruits of 2004, but look forward to 2005 being the breakthrough year that sees them achieve unprecedented success on every front.
Their new Geffen album, "Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture," enjoyed a big spike in sales in its first week of release, propelling it to a coveted No 3 on the Billboard "Heatseekers" chart with total weekly sales of 9,072. The big first week sales also results in a debut of No 136 on "The Billboard 200" album chart.
Now, after 20 weeks on the charts, at a time when other developing artists are being overlooked,
Rise Against is making big gains. This week their CD jumps to No 6 from No 11 on the Billboard "Alternative New Artist" chart, with over 70,000 copies scanned - this is even more impressive as over 16,000 CDs have been sold in the past three weeks, their gains up almost double in relation to market trend.
The band's single "Give It All" is expanding airplay by the day, with key stations in markets like L.A., Chicago, Phoenix, Sacramento and Las
Vegas continuing to spin the single in heavy rotation. MTV2 's "Rock Show" is also spinning on the video, while the band is now set to perform two songs live on Fuse's "Daily Download" Friday, January 7th at 6 p.m. (EST). A
Music Choice special from the band has been filmed and will air this year, as well.
Rise Against is also breaking through on the road. After successful runs on the Warped Tour and most recently supporting Bad Religion, they are now out on a run of headlining shows. Their dates in Cleveland and Philadelphia sold-out completely and, to date, over 500 tickets have already been gobbled up for a February headline date in L.A.
Critics have been lavish in their praise of the band and the new CD, with Alternative Press claiming their "engrossing hardcore is an urgent siren song that's appropriate for these angst-ridden, uncertain times." Outburn calls them "a pacesetter in the punk world, while Blender says "frontman Tim McIlrath reveals he's got something to scream and something to say. Complicated, catchy, hardcore."
Rise Against is comprised of vocalist Tim McIlrath, bassist Joe Principe, drummer
Brandon Barnes and guitarist Chris Chasse. In spring 2001, the quartet released their debut CD "The Unraveling" on Fat Wreck Chords. After two years of touring,
Rise Against recorded "
Revolutions Per Minute" (2002). "Siren Song Of The Counter-Culture" was produced by Gggarth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Chevelle, Sick Of It All) at his Vancouver studio.
