"Ready to Fall" is the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

by the punk rock band Rise Against from their fourth studio album, ''

The Sufferer & The Witness ''The Sufferer & the Witness'' is the fourth studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against, released on July 4, 2006. A melodic hardcore album, it comprises thirteen tracks that focus on melody, catchy hooks, and rapid-paced tempo. Soci ...

'' (2006). An acoustic version of this song was performed live on the CJZN Radio station in Victoria, British Columbia, on January 18, 2007, before a Billy Talent concert featuring Rise Against, Anti-Flag, and

Moneen Moneen (sometimes stylised as .moneen.) is a Canadian indie rock band from Brampton, Ontario. History Moneen formed in 1999 after the dissolution of another band, called Perfectly Normal. The founding members were singer/guitarist Kenny Bridges ...

Composition and reception

"Ready to Fall" was the first single from ''

'', Rise Against's follow-up to its 2004 breakthrough album ''

Siren Song of the Counter Culture ''Siren Song of the Counter Culture'' is the third studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against. Released on August 10, 2004, it was Rise Against's first album on a major record label, after the band signed with DreamWorks Records in Sep ...

'' For ''The Sufferer & the Witness'', Rise Against's members sought to return to their punk roots. McIlrath commented: "It's definitely more of a punk rock record ... We haven't 'grown or matured' as such, we've just really executed what we've been trying to nail with the last few records." Like most of the songs from ''The Sufferer & The Witness'', "Ready to Fall" is characterized as

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

and

melodic hardcore Melodic hardcore is a broadly defined subgenre of hardcore punk with a strong emphasis on melody in its guitar work. It generally incorporates fast rhythms, melodic and often distorted guitar riffs, and vocal styles tending towards shouting and ...

. with a

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

beat. "Ready to Fall" features a complex

song structure Song structure is the arrangement of a song, and is a part of the songwriting process. It is typically sectional, which uses repeating forms in songs. Common forms include bar form, 32-bar form, verse–chorus form, ternary form, strophic form, and ...

, with controlled verses that lead into an intense chorus and

screaming vocals Screaming is an extended vocal technique that is popular in "aggressive" music genres such as heavy metal, punk rock, and noise music and others. It is common in the more extreme subgenres of heavy metal, such as death and black metal as w ...

, while a continuous bassline plays in the background. The vocals and instrumentation are noticeably heavier than most of the songs on the album. "Ready to Fall" was released on May 30, as the first single from ''The Sufferer & The Witness''. It was released as a CD and 7" single; the B-side features a live performance of "State of the Union", take from the album ''

''. Commercially, "Ready to Fall" peaked at number thirteen on the ''Billboard'' Alternative Songs chart, the bands' highest charting single at the time. "Ready to Fall" received positive reviews from critics, several of whom described the chorus as "compelling". Davey Boy of Sputnikmusic further praised the song for its controlled verses and intense bridge. Scott Heisel of ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' and Corey Apar of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

noted how "Ready to Fall" emulated Rise Against's older style of music. Heisel in particular said the song was "guaranteed to start circle pits wherever played".

Music video

The accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was directed by

Kevin Kerslake Kevin Kerslake is an American filmmaker and photographer. He has directed documentaries on Joan Jett ('' Bad Reputation''), DJ AM (''As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM''), The Ramones (''We're Outta Here!''), Nirvana (''Live! Tonight! Sold Out! ...

. Made in 2006, the video is about

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

environmental destruction Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined ...

, and

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...

. The video is 3 minutes and 51 seconds long. It cuts between shots of the band playing, wild animals, and footage related to the three issues listed. This includes

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

, forest clearing, desertification, oil, and melting of

polar ice A polar ice cap or polar cap is a high-latitude region of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor a ...

, as well as

animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

dead or dying as a result of those practices. It shows footage of hunters, rodeos, animal experimentation, the capture and slaughter of wild dolphins, and animals in captivity. Finally, it features video from several areas of animal agriculture including eggs, fishing, and meat. At the end of the video,

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

Tim McIlrath Timothy James McIlrath (born November 3, 1978) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is vegan and straight edge. Early and personal life McIlr ...

says, "Every action has a reaction. We've got one planet, one chance." As well as the version played on television there was another, more graphic, 'uncut' version created. This was never released officially but is available on certain websites such as

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software a ...

. The video is focused more on animal rights and serves a testimony to

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet (nutrition), diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is kn ...

. Rise Against is an active supporter of PETA, an animal rights organization, and the band members are all active

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

s. The video was filmed at

Brandywine Falls Provincial Park Brandywine Falls Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located adjacent to BC Highway 99 between Garibaldi and Whistler, British Columbia. It is managed by Sea to Sky Parks for BC Parks. Falls The falls are located ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Much of the footage of animals in both film clips is from the documentary Earthlings.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''The Sufferer & the Witness''.

Rise Against

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Chris Chasse – lead guitar, backing vocals *

Joe Principe Joseph Daniel Principe (; born November 14, 1974) is an American musician. He is the bassist, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the American rock band Rise Against. He is also a straight edge, a vegan, an animal rights advocate, and acti ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

Brandon Barnes Brandon Barnes (born October 10, 1978) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Rise Against. Barnes is also a strict vegetarian, an animal rights advocate and actively promotes PETA with his band. Biography ...

– drums Additional personnel * Chad Price - backing vocals

Production

* Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore – producers * Bill Stevenson, Jason Livermore – audio engineering *

Chris Lord-Alge Chris Lord-Alge is an American mix engineer. He is the brother of both Tom Lord-Alge and Jeff Lord-Alge, both of whom are also audio engineers. Chris and Tom are known for their abundant use of dynamic compression for molding mixes that play wel ...

– mixing *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' ''Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Biography T ...

– mastering

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{Rise Against Rise Against songs 2006 singles Environmental songs Songs written by Tim McIlrath Songs written by Joe Principe Songs written by Brandon Barnes Melodic hardcore songs