Appeal To Reason - Musical Style and Themes

Musical Style and Themes

Appeal to Reason is considered by critics to be one of Rise Against's most accessible and melodic albums, both musically and lyrically. Jon Pareles of The New York Times felt that the band's "righteousness grows more tuneful with every album". John Hanson of Sputnikmusic said that the album is "‘appealing’ to a larger audience than old fans will be comfortable with". In an October 2008 interview with Tony Pascarella of AbsolutePunk.net, bassist Joe Principe said, "Appeal to Reason sounds like a Rise Against album but there's still something new that we're offering. I think we've grown as songwriters and as a band, and it shows on the record." According to Bill Stewart of PopMatters, "Appeal to Reason is a Rise Against album. If you possess more than a passing familiarity with the band, I wouldn’t even bother scrolling through the rest of this review, and I’d certainly avoid checking out the rating at the end of it—because that first sentence, for better or worse, says everything that needs to be said about this album."