Ricochet is a gift for those of us who still want music to matter. Music that fires you up, lifts you up, and occasionally gives you the soundtrack for your existential dread…
Words by Felix Bartlett | August 14, 2025
Rise Against were never the soundtrack to my childhood rebellion, no, that honour goes to a questionable mix of nu-metal, the music my rather gifted to me in his iPod and that ghastly ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ annual album (yes, I’ve come a long way since then). But somewhere along the line, the infectious ‘Savior’ found its way into my pre-frontal cortex like an uninvited but strangely welcome guest, popping up at the most random moments, mid-lecture at university, during a particularly tense game of COD, or while staring blankly at a microwave dinner. Now, with their 10th album Ricochet, the Chicago punk veterans are back, and they’re still pissed off, still melodic, and still refusing to let the world’s slow-motion implosion go unchallenged, and this time I’m welcoming them in with open arms.
Let’s get one thing straight, if you’re expecting Ricochet to reinvent the wheel, you’ve come to the wrong pit stop. Rise Against have spent 25 years perfecting a formula, and they’re not about to start tinkering with it now. What they have done, however, is polish it to a near-obsessive sheen. This is a band that knows exactly what they’re good at, rousing choruses, politically charged lyrics, and hooks that lodge themselves in your brain like a stray bullet, and they’re here to deliver it with surgical precision.
The album kicks off with ‘Nod’, which basically sounds like if The Hives decided to crash a punk show, loud, sharp, and impossible to sit still to. It’s the kind of track that makes you want to move, whether that’s moshing or just stomping around your kitchen. Rise Against aren’t slowing down with age, they’ve just trimmed the fat and gone straight for the jugular. ‘I Want It All’ follows with a punchy garage-rock vibe and a chorus so catchy it should come with a warning label, while ‘Prizefighter’ closes the record swinging, dripping with the kind of defiance that makes you want to stand up and yell… even if it’s just at traffic.
But it’s the title track where things hit differently. ‘Ricochet‘ starts slow and brooding, built on acoustic strums and an industrial hum before exploding into a chorus that smacks you right in the chest. The lyrics, about how our words can come back to haunt us, show that Rise Against can make you think just as hard as they make you thrash. ‘The Damage Is Done’ keeps the mood heavy, wrestling with the idea that some wounds never really heal, all wrapped up in a melody that demands a singalong.
There’s a thread of melancholy running through Ricochet, like the band is looking at the state of the world and shaking their heads. ‘State of Emergency’ wonders why we’re constantly living in crisis mode, while ‘Sink Like a Stone’ offers rare, genuine life advice: “When everybody’s crying on your shoulder… how much longer can you walk, before you finally have to stop?” It’s punk rock with a self-care twist (tying nicely into the narrative message of this year’s Superman being punk rock) and it hits harder than you’d expect.
Musically, Rise Against aren’t reinventing themselves, and honestly, they don’t need to. The guitars bite, the drums hit hard, and Tim McIlrath’s voice still has that raw, urgent edge. ‘Black Crown’ and ‘Gold Long Gone’ shine with their mix of soaring hooks and sharp lyrics, while ‘Soldier’, with its ‘Zombie’-style opening, feels like a battle cry for anyone still fighting for something they believe in.
Ricochet is a gift for those of us who still want music to matter. Music that fires you up, lifts you up, and occasionally gives you the soundtrack for your existential dread. The world’s still a mess, but at least we’ve got Rise Against to scream along with.
Verdict: 💀💀💀💀
For fans of: Billy Talent, Strike Anywhere, Anti-Flag
Ricochet is released on August 15 via Loma Vista
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