The Black Market
by Rise Against
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 44 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 44
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 44
  3. Negative: 5 out of 44
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  1. WatsonStudios
    Jul 15, 2015
    3
    Rise Against used to be the kind of band that always strived to give off different important messages like the government is corrupted and we the people need to rise up and speak for what's right.

    Today, they instead strive to ignore their old fans and attempt to get a new mainstream fanbase by making their lyrics boring and uncreative, and sounding almost silly the way they try to make    Rise Against used to be the kind of band that always strived to give off different important messages like the government is corrupted and we the people need to rise up and speak for what's right.

    Today, they instead strive to ignore their old fans and attempt to get a new mainstream fanbase by making their lyrics boring and uncreative, and sounding almost silly the way they try to make their lyrics sound important and such, but come off annoying, literally.

    They say this album is "Hardcore-Punk" and even "Punk-Revival", but this album sounds very weak in many of the tracks, here's our thoughts on each song:

    The Great Die-Off - Interesting chorus and beat sounds good. This is the song that got us interested in the album in the first place. It's not amazing but you can listen to it without any cringe.

    I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore - "EY DUN WANA BE HEEIR ENNYYMAAAAAAAAUUUrRrrrr"... wow, well we guess he doesn't want to be wherever the hell he's at anymore, the lyrics try to be badass, but just fall flat on it's face.

    Tragedy/Time - The REAL tragedy is how this song sounds extremely bland, but it had potential, just wasted on being very radio-friendly. Where's the passion? The emotion? The lyrics aren't even that bad, it's just not enough power in the song.

    The Black Market - Eh, all we can say is that it's boring, tries to be emotional, but feels almost blank.

    The Eco-Terrorist in Me - This song is just a joke... right? The Vocals are forced and there's nothing to get out of this song, also, at this point, we started to notice the drum pattern is getting really repetitive quick throughout the album. The feeling the song gives off is just a mystery as much as why did they mess up this bad?

    Sudden Life - The scratchy vocals completely ruin the instrumentals. That's all we can say.

    A Beautiful Indifference - This one's not bad; we like the chorus and there's parts that sound quite good. Good job Rise Against, your entire album isn't complete garbage after all.

    Methadone - "KURDEN BED ABEREAL, THAT U WANDED MAAAAAeerrrrrrrr" Hahaha! Oh god!! Oh damn that's hilarious haha! Wow, that... that was funny... the vocals in this song are just trash. If you can't take our word for it, well, then go listen to it! Yeah, it's that bad!

    Zero Visibility - Aw, soooo close man, they just barely missed the mark on this one. They had a really good feel and sound going, but it just feels too forced and even kind of awkward in some parts. 7/10 too much water.

    Awake Too Long - They were really trying to be mainstream-friendly with this one, no real passion, no definitive feel.

    People Live Here - We dearly pray nobody takes this song seriously: it's way too forced, the vocals are below par, and it actually feels more like a parody of "boo-hoo" songs instead of a real song. Sadly ironically, the instruments are pretty good on some parts, but they can't save the crappiness of the lyrics that we cannot take seriously half the song.

    Bridges - Boring, bland, no passion, no real feeling, blah blah blah it sucks.

    In conclusion, if you ever need help coming up with examples of the definition of "Mediocre", refer to this very album!    … Expand
  2. Noiseblock
    Nov 24, 2014
    3
    It´s such a shame that a band like Rise Against which once focused so strongly on compelling and heartfelt lyrics managed to create an album as generic and average as The Black Market. They once defined themselves through confident, fair criticism and the will to stand up for a better world at all cost, even though that once ment never leaving the underground-scene. Yet the only thing oneIt´s such a shame that a band like Rise Against which once focused so strongly on compelling and heartfelt lyrics managed to create an album as generic and average as The Black Market. They once defined themselves through confident, fair criticism and the will to stand up for a better world at all cost, even though that once ment never leaving the underground-scene. Yet the only thing one seems to find on TBM, now that Rise Against are at the top of popularity, is average lyricism and forced critizism. It feels like Rise Against are struggling to find new controversial themes, yet not to deliver some sort of massage, but just to quieten the old fans and attracting a new, mainstream audience.
    The fact that (even though their marketing campaign for TBM was their biggest to date ) only six (!) influential mainstream-magazines were willing to rate TBM (50% of which thought the album is average) shows that this strategy is deemed to fail . Rise Against seem to be treading water and as long as they continue to do so, there won´t be many followers around to support them in the times they really got something to say once more...    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 17, 2014
    70
    The formula is nowhere near broke, so why fix it? Stirring stuff. [Oct 2014, p.91]
  2. Q Magazine
    Aug 28, 2014
    60
    While this more contemplative side rounds out their usual roaring punk, it does strip them of some edge, making The Black Market sound oddly anonymous. [Sep 2014, p.113]
  3. Kerrang!
    Jul 22, 2014
    100
    The Black Market is a magnificent wake-up call. [12 Jul 2014, p.52]
See all critic reviews »