Siren Song of the Counter Culture

Siren Song of the Counter Culture
Studio album by Rise Against
Released	August 10, 2004[1]
Recorded	December 2003 – May 2004
Studio	Plumper Mountain Sound (Gibsons, British Columbia) The Warehouse Studio (Vancouver, British Columbia)
Genre	Punk rock, hardcore punk, melodic hardcore
Length	40:54
Label	Geffen B0002967-02
Producer	Garth Richardson
Rise Against chronology
Revolutions per Minute (2003) Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) The Sufferer & the Witness (2006)
Singles from Siren Song of the Counter Culture
"Give It All" Released: November 2004 "Swing Life Away" Released: April 2005 "Life Less Frightening" Released: July 2005

Siren Song of the Counter Culture is the third album by American punk rock band Rise Against, released on August 10, 2004. It is the band's first release on a major label. It is also the first album not to feature guitarist Todd Mohney, being replaced by Chris Chasse.

The album sold very well, mainly due to the success of its single, "Swing Life Away", which reached #12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, making it the band's highest-charting single at the time. Also faring well were the album's other two singles, "Give It All" (#37) and "Life Less Frightening" (#33) While the album was commercially successful, Siren Song of the Counter Culture is not Rise Against's highest charting album on the Billboard 200, peaking only at #136; subsequent albums The Sufferer & The Witness, Appeal to Reason, and Endgame charted higher, peaking at #10, #3, #2 respectively. The album has been certified gold by the RIAA and platinum by the CRIA.

Writing and production

Siren Song of the Counter Culture was recorded in 2004 at Plumper Mountain Sound in Gibsons, British Columbia and The Warehouse Studio in Vancouver with producer Garth Richardson.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Contactmusic.com	7/10[3]
Pitchfork Media	2.9/10<ref name=Pitchfork Review">{{cite web|last1=Hogan|first1=Marc|title=Rise Against: Siren Song of the Counter Culture|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6926-siren-song-of-the-counter-culture/|work=Pitchfork Media|accessdate=January 18, 2015}}</ref>
Sputnikmusic	4/5[4]
Ultimate Guitar Archive	9.3/10[5]

Siren Song of the Counter Culture was released on August 10, 2004 and is the first Rise Against album distributed via Geffen Records. The album peaked at number 136 on the Billboard 200 album chart^[6] and reached #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart. It received generally positive reviews from mainstream critics. The single "Give It All" was featured in the Electronic Arts game Need for Speed: Underground 2.

Track listing

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

No.	Title	Length
1.	"State of the Union"	2:19
2.	"The First Drop"	2:39
3.	"Life Less Frightening"	3:44
4.	"Paper Wings"	3:43
5.	"Blood to Bleed"	3:48
6.	"To Them These Streets Belong"	2:49
7.	"Tip the Scales"	3:49
8.	"Anywhere but Here"	3:38
9.	"Give It All"	2:50
10.	"Dancing for Rain"	4:01
11.	"Swing Life Away" (McIlrath, Neil Hennessy)	3:20
12.	"Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"	4:14
Total length:		40:54

Bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Obstructed View"	2:01
14.	"Fix Me" (Black Flag cover, Japanese & German bonus track)	0:55

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Siren Song of the Counter Culture, unless otherwise noted.^[7]

Rise Against Tim McIlrath – Lead vocals, rhythm guitar (solo on "Paper Wings") Chris Chasse – Lead guitar, backing vocals Joe Principe – Bass guitar, backing vocals Brandon Barnes – Drums, percussion Artwork Shepard Fairey – Cover illustration Lisa Johnson – Photography Additional musicians Neil Hennessy – Additional backing vocals Nicholas Simons – Cello<ref name=Nicholas Smith">Mack, Adrian (September 2, 2009). "NDP MLA Nicholas Simons strikes hardcore gold record". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved April 10, 2016.</ref>

Production Garth Richardson – Producer Dean Maher – Engineer Bryan Gallant, Lee Robertson, & Scott Ternan – Assistant engineers Steve Sisco – Assistant mixing Andy Wallace – Mixing Ben Kaplan & John O'Mahoney – Digital editing Richard Leighton – Guitar technician Eric "Wilcard" Bonny – Stage technician Chris Crippen – Drum technician Management Missy Worth – Management for Artistic License Corrie Chiristopher – Booking Agent for Fierce Talent Marlene Tsucii – International Booking Agent for Creative Artists Agency Ron Handler – A&R Graham Martin – A&R coordinator

Charts

Album Year Chart Peak position 2004 US Billboard 200[6] 136 2005 Top Heatseekers[6] 1 Singles Year Song Chart Position 2004 "Give It All" US Modern Rock Tracks 37 2005 "Swing Life Away" US Billboard Hot 100 117 US Modern Rock Tracks 12 US Pop 100 95 "Life Less Frightening" US Modern Rock Tracks 33

Certifications Country Certification Sales Australia Gold[8] 35,000 Canada Platinum[9] 100,000+ United States Gold[10] 500,000+

References

1. http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/rise_against/albums.jhtml?albumId=769738
2. "Siren Song of the Counter-Culture - Rise Against". AllMusic. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
3. Parker, Alex. "Rise Against – Siren Song Of The Counter Culture – Album Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
4. Boy, Davey (June 16, 2008). "Review: Rise Against - Siren Song of the Counter Culture". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
5. • "Siren Song Of The Counter Culture Review" (UG Team review). Ultimate Guitar Archive. July 26, 2005. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
6. "Siren Song of the Counter Culture - Rise Against". Billboard.
7. Siren Song of the Counter Culture (liner notes). Rise Against. Geffen Records. 2004.
8. "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2014 Albums". Australian Record Industry Association. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
9. "CRIA database". Canadian Recording Industry Association.
10. "RIAA Database Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• Siren Song of the Counter Culture at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)