The Unraveling is the debut studio album released by Chicago-based melodic hardcore band Rise Against. The album is a perfect blend of classic hardcore mosh tracks, and slower more traditional rock songs. Similar to their later album The Black Market, most of the songs on The Unraveling are about life and personal issues.
A lot of bands take a few albums to really get their sound down, but The Unraveling is already, unabashedly, a Rise Against album. Featuring plenty of Tim McIlrath fry screaming, guitar octaves, and vocal harmonies.
One of the most unique features of this album is it's cover art, designed by Chicago-based illustrator/tattoo artist Tim Biedron. It has a similar abstract look that is reminiscent of the cover of The Sufferer and the Witness.
Are you ready to rock?
Now's the time
To rearrange your life
Live for something
Outside of your own mind
We all dream
The same dream every night
To burn the world that you call civilized
Alive and well
I live to be alive
I live to always strive
For something more
Alive and well
I'll never understand
The who, what, why or when
Of you tonight...
We face the stares of judgement
And almost everyday
The shaking heads
Of disapproval say
"Pray for you to give me something then find out that there was nothing left"
Alive and well
I live to be alive
I live to always strive
For something more
Cause I'm alive and well
I'll never understand
The who, what, why or when
Of you tonight...
Recite the words inside
Realize that this is nothing
Without your voice
I'm not giving up
Not giving up
Not giving up
And I'll blame the worst on you
I know what's wrong
Alive and well
I live to be alive
I live to always strive
For something more
Cause I'm alive and well
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
And I don't need to explain
Myself to you
Myself to you
Fighting back the impulse turn my head and close my eyes
Spending these nights awake and cold and paralyzed
Wonder how we got this far and never realized
The common thread that binds our lives
And I know you hurt
But I can help you if you can...
Take my hand
And we'll live inside the dreams we left behind
Take my hand
As we move from this place to a better life
Take my hand
Woah
If you take my hand
Fighting back the feeling that you always could deny
Anything but everything we know is just a lie
As I cremate this memory and watch the darkened ashes rise
And beneath the smoke
I'll stand and ask you if you can...
Take my hand
And I'll promise not to ever let it go
Take my hand
Cause this hope is greater than you'll ever know
(Take my hand!)
And this is all I'll ever ask of you to show
Fight back the urges
Turn my head and close my eyes
And will I wake tomorrow still alive
I'm still dreaming
I'm still waiting
I'm still sure
(I'm still sure!)
You're still living in a life
That isn't yours
(That isn't yours!)
And this is part of me
I hope you never see
This is my life inside your heart
Take my hand
And I'll promise not to ever let it go
Take my hand
Cause this hope is greater than you'll ever know
(Take my hand)
And this is all I'll ever ask of you to show
Buried words
Under lights
Soundtrack to this stagnant life
This meaning lost in translation
Message sucked out of his hands again
This could be my great awakening
But how would I know
'Cause it's all noise to me
Are these words falling on deaf ears?
Staring at the empty stares
Realize that he no longer
Cares about the wrong or right
The downward spiral begins tonight
And this could be my great awakening
But how would I know
'Cause it's all noise to me
Are these words falling on deaf ears?
And this could be my great awakening
But how would I know
'Cause it's all noise to me
Nothing I can do will make you hear
The years unfold in one moment
The voices that we heard so loud
Are now suddenly silenced
Inside this crowd
And you're surrounded by the lives
Of those who found something to hold
So bringing everybody down
Is all you know
You've been hiding so long
You can't find yourself
In this sheltered life you live
When everything you want is at your fingertips
You'll never know what need is
You're claiming to be something different
So wanting to believe
That you're better than the rest
To make up for your self-esteem
You talk to hear your own voice and
You've left me no choice but to choose
I miss the person that you were
But I don't miss you
You've been hiding so long
You can't find yourself
In this sheltered life you live
When everything you want is at your fingertips
You'll never know what need is
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
1, 2, 3, Go!
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well
You're the new revolution
The angst-filled adolescent
You fit the stereotype well...
As I watch your life go up in flames
You'll swear up and down you'd like to change
But when the sun sinks slowly into the sky
Now you're right
Where you started again with nothing to say
Without an argument or case
And when it's said and done and done and said
And now what's another day
I can feel these changes right before my eyes
I see a dying fire inside your eyes
Inside your eyes
When will you stop and realize
The worth and value of your life
As you suffocate yourself within this mindless
9-5 wake up
There's more
And your life is nobody's but yours
And now its said and done and done and said
And now what's another day
I can feel these changes right before my eyes
I see a dying fire inside your eyes
You're running circles around my slow pace
You've reached the finish line only to realize there was no race
I'm sick of being stepped on for the things I choose
I give and take and now I've taken all I could
And now I've taken all I could
And now I've taken all I could
And now I've taken all I could (now I've taken, now I've taken)
And now I've taken all I could (now I've taken, now I've taken)
And now I've taken all I could
I'm not fucking blind to the way
That you talk around the truth
Not just what you say
But what you do
Played this tug of war way too fucking long
Like every time
Again I've lost
You've won
You took advantage of the trust that I gave (I gave)
Took my forgiveness rubbed it back in my face (my face)
Reaching for words but there's nothing to say (to say)
I'm left to wonder will this ever be the same (the same)
This rage
Burning through my veins
Regret consumes my mind
Cutting deeply like a razor blade
Will I live to see another day
Without questioning your motives
With constant doubt
You took advantage of the trust that I gave (I gave)
Took my forgiveness rubbed it back in my face (my face)
Reaching for words but there's nothing to say (to say)
I'm left to wonder will this ever be the same (the same)
And as we sit back
We're waiting for these scars to heal
Try to convince ourselves
That this
That this isn't real
Will you allow me forget your past
Or will you always hang it over my head
All these days
I'll forever cherish
In the confines of my heart
The faces of ten years ago
Like fingerprints on my heart
How can I breathe when fear chokes my every breath?
How can I balance six inches from death?
Now, the momentum we've created
Comes to a screeching halt
This angel comes crashing down
On her hands and knees she crawls
How can I breathe when fear chokes my every breath?
How many of your lies
Will I be fed?
(Hey!)
The remains of summer memories spent so far away
(Hey!)
Free from the fear or jealousy that plagues our lives today
(Hey!)
Now that promises were broken, enemies were made
(Hey!)
We spend our precious time pointing fingers trying to place the blame
The remains
Of what's left of our past
Of a future yet to come
Of the battles that we've lost
And the fights that we have won
And all these things that we tie together
Keep unraveling apart
And the light that used to burn so bright
Now is dark
With anger-laced intent we set fire
To the bridges that remain
And they're wading through the current now
And they drown in the flood of the tears
That have been wept
And I scream to the sky
No, you are not alone
If you think that your words will ever make a difference
Think again and carry on
Because the weight behind the hand that holds us is strong
But there is hope in the roar of a thousand pleading cries
And all these things that we tie together
The sound of their tongues being bitten
Is all I hear
As we fire at the whites of theirs eyes then
Dance on ashes of the world
As they drown in the flood of the tears
That have been wept
And their tongues being bitten
Is all that I can hear
As I scream to the sky
I need you now
Can you feel this truth now unraveling?
Or will you chase the burning sun
Into the sea
It is, in the end, whatever the hell I want it to be
And when I'm through with it, it's gonna blow a hole
This wide, straight through the world's own idea of itself
They're throwing bottles at your house
Come on, lets go break their arms
You talk about the way things were
But I can't hear what you're saying
A time when life was not this hard
Blessed by the innocence
Is the best yet to come?
Or did it pass by long ago?
Are we holding on to a thread
Of something already dead?
I'm not your reason to stand up straight
Shoulders back, chest out, and eyes raised
Stepping back, I hesitate
I can't let myself be taken
Is the best yet to come?
Or did it pass by long ago?
Are we holding on to a thread
Of something already dead?
You can't change your mind, expect me to care
You can't just snap your fingers and expect me to be there
You can't change your mind, expect me to care
You can't just snap your fingers and expect me to be there
Can't just change your mind
The reception fades, the signals breaking up
And am I moving on or am I giving up?
If you walk away from this with anything
Live your life today
Come warm your hands on hellfire and brimstone
Empty the pockets of the innocent victim
Bound by fear
We misplace trust
In your voice
Inside these walls
Convincing us we have no choice
Gaze upon these stares of naivete
Two thousand years replaced
With eighteen inches of our faith
Bound by fear
We misplace trust
In your voice
Inside these walls
Convincing us we have no choice
And this reflection
On where the message lies
Stained glass and marble
Or somewhere deep inside
Somewhere deep inside
This message you will only find deep inside
To read these words
You keep looking down
But in the sky
This message is written in the clouds