At this weekend’s Download festival at Leicestershire, United Kingdom’s Donington Park, Tim McIlrath — the frontman of RISE AGAINST — spoke to James Wilson-Taylor of Rock Sound about the punk band’s upcoming tenth album, “Ricochet”, due out August 15 via Loma Vista. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “We were ready [with the album] a year ago, just putting together all like the little bits and pieces and artwork and all that kind of stuff. So we’ve been chomping at the bit for a while, and we’re happy to finally get it out. There’s only three songs of it out right now. So I really hope people will get to hear the whole thing really soon, which they will — August 15th. We’re gonna debut [the latest single] ‘I Want It All’ in the U.K. for the first time, I believe, here [Friday] afternoon [at Download]. So, yeah, we’re excited about that.”
Regarding “I Want It All”, McIlrath said: “That one was the one that we put together and it sounded most like something different in 2025 for RISE AGAINST. ‘Cause I think people will find songs on this album that fit seamlessly into the catalog of RISE AGAINST in a lot of ways. And ‘I Want It All’ kind of, I feel, stands out in the live show, on the record. It’s got its own sort of thing. I think it will be identifiable as this era of RISE AGAINST.”
“Ricochet” marks RISE AGAINST‘s first album in four years, arriving in a world of constant stimuli, where the algorithm wants us all to be angry: like a pile of marbles hit hard and bouncing uncontrollably, continuing to spread further and further. But across these twelve songs, produced by Grammy-winning producer Catherine Marks (BOYGENIUS, FOALS, MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA, ST. VINCENT) and mixed by Alan Moulder (NINE INCH NAILS, PARAMORE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THE KILLERS),RISE AGAINST asks listeners to consider who ultimately benefits from this collective division and displeasure — to look before we leap, to think about the consequences our actions have on each other, as the power structures that prod us remain preserved and protected.
Rooted in unification, “Ricochet” is a record massive in sound, but centered around the small parts of the psyche that lead to the biggest positive change. It all starts with oneself, and on the searing lead single “I Want It All”, RISE AGAINST revs the engine and jump-starts a mission of self-determinism that is ardent, ambitious and unapologetic.
“I Want It All” follows recent singles “Nod” — hailed as a “particularly potent rallying cry for the moment” (Rolling Stone),and “the anthem we need right now” (VICE) — as well as “Prizefighter”, illustrating the internal battle between making art, maintaining autonomy and meeting the demands of our rapidly-shifting attention span. Throughout the rest of “Ricochet”, RISE AGAINST dives deeper into the solace we find in community and the chain reaction of our words and actions – how hurt is not something that can be reversed, and that the fight for a better existence begins not with blind allegiance, but through an unpopular opinion from a minority of voices. While so much of the world is designed to feel like we are in a constant state of emergency, bandmembers Tim McIlrath (lead vocals/guitar),Joe Principe (bass/vocals),Zach Blair (guitar/vocals) and Brandon Barnes (drums) urge us to come together to not simply survive, but to save it now.
McIlrath previously said in a statement: “‘Ricochet’ is about our collective inter-connectedness. We started with the title track and that being about how we’re all — whether we like it or not — stuck in the same room, so to speak. Everything you do is going to affect somebody; everything you throw will affect the next person. We’re connected to other countries, other economies; we’re connected to undocumented immigrants. We’re connected to every decision our leaders make. It’s all one big ricochet effect. That idea is the backbone of this album.”
In the four years since 2021’s “Nowhere Generation”, the Chicago band’s outspoken messages, bulletproof melodies and deep body of multi-gold and platinum hits have reached more fans than ever, uniting millions in a necessary embrace of vital, progressive issues. Whether they are singing about injustice, instability, environmentalism, animal rights or the way the social and economic decks have been stacked against the youth, RISE AGAINST continues to fill arenas, top charts, break records and earn billions of streams.
This summer, they are back bigger than ever. Having already performed at Los Angeles’s Kia Forum and toured across three continents this year, RISE AGAINST return to the road hot on the heels of the album announcement, for an impressive European tour and festival headliner run in June, followed by Vans Warped Tour, and dozens of arena and amphitheatre shows in the U.S.
“Ricochet” track listing:
01. Nod
02. I Want It All
03. Ricochet
04. Damage Is Done
05. Us Against The World
06. Black Crown
07. Sink Like A Stone
08. Forty Days
09. State Of Emergency
10. Gold Long Gone
11. Soldier
12. Prizefighter
Photo credit: Mynxii White
Content shared from blabbermouth.net.