The track was released as the lead single from the album on July 31, 2007, peaking at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

In an interview with The Pulse of Radio, the guitarist commented that "it's already getting kind of looked at the wrong way, where people think it's an anti-war song or whatnot, [but] it's more of a, you know, let's check ourselves and see if we can do something better for any given situation".

[6] The music video for "Rise Today" was filmed in a rehearsal space in the band's hometown of Orlando, Florida with director Dale "Rage" Resteghini and released on October 5, 2007.

[13] In his review of Blackbird, Vik Bansal of musicOMH praised "Rise Today" as one of the highlights of the album, alongside "Before Tomorrow Comes", noting that the two singles "have obvious but oh so pleasurable hooks" and claiming that all three represent the record's "peak creative powers".

[14] In a 2016 feature for TeamRock, Henry Yates ranked "Rise Today" as the second best song by the band (after "Blackbird"), praising its "emotional resonance" and "force-ten execution".