Rise Against have surprised fans with the unanticipated release of a new five-track EP, Nowhere Generation II.
Written and recorded during the same sessions which spawned last year's Nowhere Generation album, the EP was produced by Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag).
"We'd written 16 songs for this album and then we decided to break them apart," explains frontman Tim McIlrath. "Not only could the music get lost, but the message could get lost in asking people to listen to this all at once. I think this is, hopefully, a more effective way to give these issues the platform and the spotlight that they rightly deserve. We wanted to hold onto these and give them to our fans when we feel like they've had time to properly digest this first batch, so these songs were the aces up our sleeves."
The Chicago band have also released a Ryan Valdez-directed video for the EP's second track, Last Man Standing.
"Last Man Standing was a way of expressing some frustration with our world in regards to exploitation, public alienation and human inequality," explains Valdez. "As you see in the video, we are fed through this race of survival. Only to be taken down, regardless of our success or efforts. Almost as if the game was rigged, designed to set us up for failure."
Tim McIlrath's lyrics in one section of the song run:
"In a world that isn’t big enough for you
Someone has to lose
But when the ammunition all runs out
And the battlefields quiet down
Someone has to be
The last man standing
When all is said and all is done
After every war is won
I promise I will be
The last man standing"
Watch the video for Last Man Standing below:
Rise Against are currently on tour in Europe and will play the main stage at Download festival on Sunday, June 12, below Volbeat, Korn and headliners Biffy Clyro.
