Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath teases ‘less traditional’ sounds on next album

Rise Against returned in January with the single “Nod,” marking their first new material in three years. In an interview with Kerrang!, frontman Tim McIlrath teases that “Nod” may or may not reflect the rest of the band’s next album.

“I think people are going to hear a 2025 version of Rise Against,” McIlrath shares. “There’s gonna be some traditional stuff like everyone’s heard [with] ‘Nod,’ but I think you’ll hear some stuff like, ‘This wasn’t something I expected.’ I’m excited.”

In writing and performing “Nod,” McIlrath feels Rise Against made a song that “could have fit in anywhere in our catalogue.”

“It really did just kind of seamlessly fit into our set,” McIlrath says of “Nod.” “I think you get what Rise is good at. Like, we’re good at that thing and doing that sound.”

“And then we kept writing songs,” he continues. “There’s some stuff that I think that will be far more [of a] curveball. You know, it will … [be] less traditional than what we’ve done in the past. But ‘Nod’ is sort of like, ‘Hey, we’re still here. We still do this. This is the music that we’re still into.'”

Rise Against’s most recent album is 2021’s Nowhere Generation. They also put out a companion EP, Nowhere Generation II, in 2022.

You can catch Rise Against touring the U.S. alongside Papa Roach starting in March.

Rise Against returned in January with the single “Nod,” marking their first new material in three years. In an interview with Kerrang!, frontman Tim McIlrath teases that “Nod” may or may not reflect the rest of the band’s next album.

“I think people are going to hear a 2025 version of Rise Against,” McIlrath shares. “There’s gonna be some traditional stuff like everyone’s heard [with] ‘Nod,’ but I think you’ll hear some stuff like, ‘This wasn’t something I expected.’ I’m excited.”

In writing and performing “Nod,” McIlrath feels Rise Against made a song that “could have fit in anywhere in our catalogue.”

“It really did just kind of seamlessly fit into our set,” McIlrath says of “Nod.” “I think you get what Rise is good at. Like, we’re good at that thing and doing that sound.”

“And then we kept writing songs,” he continues. “There’s some stuff that I think that will be far more [of a] curveball. You know, it will … [be] less traditional than what we’ve done in the past. But ‘Nod’ is sort of like, ‘Hey, we’re still here. We still do this. This is the music that we’re still into.'”

Rise Against’s most recent album is 2021’s Nowhere Generation. They also put out a companion EP, Nowhere Generation II, in 2022.

You can catch Rise Against touring the U.S. alongside Papa Roach starting in March.