Rise Against August 28, 2007

Chicago's Rise Against features former members of the late great 88 Fingers Louie. This four-piece punk unit plays a punchy brand of melodic hardcore heavily influenced by bands like Bad Religion, Minor Threat and Bad Brains. This band is a potent mix of youth crew style, metal edge, melodic energy and hardcore pride. Their message, though stated a thousand times before, comes off as neither cheesy nor insincere. Silverstein was formed in early 2000 in Ontario, Canada and acquired it's name after the famous children's author by the same name. The band thrived to tear down the boundaries between hardcore, emo and punk and with the addition of guitarist Neil Boshart, after founding guitarist Richard McWalter left the band, a myriad of new influences and ideas came in which is believed to have solidified and enhanced the band's developing trademark sound. Smoke or Fire is a punk band from Richmond, Virginia, USA. Clearly influenced by predecessors like Hot Water Music and Avail, these young upstarts also blend in some additional elements of Americana with their hints of The Replacements and Bruce Springsteen.