Lyrically, the band is known for their outspoken social commentary, covering a wide range of topics such as political injustice, animal rights, humanitarianism, and environmentalism.

The band spent its first four years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which they released two studio albums, The Unraveling (2001) and Revolutions per Minute (2003).

Rise Against's major label debut Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) brought the band mainstream success, largely in part to the popularity of the singles "Give It All" and "Swing Life Away".

The band's seventh and eighth albums, The Black Market (2014) and Wolves (2017) continued the trend of commercial success, and both peaked with the top ten on the Billboard 200.

[3] Following the second breakup, Principe and Wleklinski decided to form a new band called Transistor Revolt, and recruited drummer Tony Tintari, guitarist Kevin White, and lead vocalist Tim McIlrath.

Fat Wreck Chords was known for a specific pop punk sound, and Rise Against wanted to find a producer that could highlight the heavier side of their music.

[26][27] The general consensus among Fat Wreck Chords musicians was that major record labels sacrifice musical integrity in exchange for commercial profit.

[7] It became the band's first album to reach the Billboard 200, peaking at number 136,[31] and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of 500,000 copies.

[40] The band members were dissatisfied with Richardson's contributions to Siren Song of the Counter Culture, as he produced a more polished and heavier album than their previous works.

As a result, they decided to return to Stevenson and Livermore, who they felt had accurately captured the raw punk sound they strove for on Revolutions per Minute.

[6] Unlike the stressful recording sessions for Siren Song of the Counter Culture, the band had a much more enjoyable time with The Sufferer & the Witness, as they no longer sought the approval of Geffen executives.

[99] Rise Against contributed a cover of "Ballad of Hollis Brown" to Chimes of Freedom, a tribute album of Bob Dylan songs produced in February 2012 to commemorate Amnesty International's 50th anniversary.

[102] On January 2, 2013, vocalist Tim McIlrath told Rolling Stone that Rise Against was "focusing on recharging [their] batteries" after two years of touring in support of Endgame.

[108] The band members used new recording techniques, such as greater usage of analog signals on a Kemper amplifier, and an Evertune bridge to keep the guitars in tune.

[114] On April 18, 2017, the band posted a new mysterious website which appeared to show a cryptic tracklist, song length and an announcement date "4.20.2017" for the new album.

[117] To promote the album, the band announced a headlining North American tour in fall 2017 with Pierce the Veil and White Lung supporting.

[68][143][144] Guitarists McIlrath and Blair focus on speed riffing and multi-layered choruses,[145] while bassist Principe uses aggressive picking to lock in with the snare and kick of the drums.

[146] Likewise, drummer Barnes follows the guitars, stating: "Sometimes I'll do it naturally, or we'll talk about different ways to accent things - fills from the snare or toms, or some big crashes.

"[28] Other bands that have influenced Rise Against include 7 Seconds,[148] AFI,[149] Bad Brains,[150] Bad Religion,[151] Berri Txarrak,[152] Bikini Kill,[152] Cave In,[149] the Clash,[152] Coalesce,[152] Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,[153] the Cure,[154] Dead Kennedys,[28] Desaparecidos,[152] Descendents,[155] Down by Law,[156] Echo & the Bunnymen,[154] Earth Crisis,[157] Face to Face,[156] Flobots,[152] Fugazi,[149] Guns N' Roses,[152] Ignite,[152] Jawbreaker,[153] Los Crudos,[158] Janelle Monáe,[152] NOFX,[155] Pennywise,[151] Propagandhi,[152] Public Enemy,[152] Quicksand,[159] Rage Against the Machine,[160] Ramones,[161] Rancid,[155] Refused,[153] Samiam,[159] Gil Scott-Heron,[152] Screeching Weasel,[156] Shades Apart,[159] Sidekick Kato,[153][158] Sick of It All,[162] Patti Smith,[152] Social Distortion[151] and Touché Amoré.

[17] Although this darker tone carried into Siren Song of the Counter Culture, McIlrath specially mentioned that The Sufferer & the Witness was an attempt to return to Rise Against's punk roots.

[170][171] The New York Times reviewer Jon Pareles felt Appeal to Reason was more tune-oriented than the band's previous material,[169] while Davey Boy of Sputnikmusic wrote how Endgame was "slickly produced to enhance the melodic nature of songs".

[173] Throughout the years, the band has discussed a wide range of topics, including animal rights, economic injustice, environmental disasters, forced displacement, homophobia, and modern warfare.

"[178] Principe noted the band does not attempt to preach their beliefs, but instead encourage listeners to become involved, and learn about pertinent issues affecting society.

[8] Will Rausch of PopMatters wrote: "Unlike typical emo rants filled with despondency and arm chair philosophy, [Rise Against] songs deal with the reality that life sucks, but we must move on.

This documentary style of filming can be seen in the music videos for "Ready to Fall", "Re-Education (Through Labor)", "Ballad of Hollis Brown", and "I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore".

[182] For example, the video "Ballad of Hollis Brown" is about the dangers of industrialized farming and poverty in the United States, and features interviews with farmers who are struggling to stay afloat.

[182] The video for "The Violence", which was to feature the detonation of busts of the forty-three United States Presidents on a plot of farmland, was prohibited by the farm's board of directors for "anti-government themes".

[188] The music video for the single "Ready to Fall" contains footage of factory farming, rodeos, and sport hunting, as well as deforestation, melting ice caps, and forest fires.

During the 2004 United States presidential election, the band was part of Punkvoter, a political activist group, and appeared on the Rock Against Bush, Vol.

"[199] Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, the band issued a statement condemning the decision for how it "only ended safe abortion for people without the resources to travel; disproportionately non-white working class communities.