This review covers the punk rock track Pennywise – Rise Up.
This track was released in 2003 on the album From the Ashes. It also made an appearance on the game Burnout 3: Takedown.
The track starts with a drum kit. A guitar then joins the track. The guitar section fills out as the instrumental section continues. Then, the vocals joins the track. Backup vocals make brief appearances here as well.
The guitar notes shorten as the vocals hit the main chorus. Backup vocals become more prominent in part here. This is capped off with a brief instrumental section.
After that, the vocals take the track into the next verse. A guitar shred can be heard part way through. Right after, the vocals take the track into the next round in the main chorus. This is capped off with an instrumental section with backup vocals making appearances in non-lyrical form.
The vocals then take the track into a short verse. This is followed up by another round in the main chorus. Some guitar shredding is heard in this section as well. The main chorus is extended with backup vocals re-joining. The drum kit then leads the track out.
For me, the first thing that sticks out is the guitars. They sound great to me. There are the nice longer notes that adds a nice amount of power to the track as well as some of the more creative elements during instrumental sections. There are even occasional moments where they have that shred moment which adds a nice auditory flavour to the track. Those moments are a nice touch.
The vocals have good and bad parts. From purely an overall sound side of things, they sound quite good. They add a nice overall sound to the track. On the other side, from a lyrical perspective, they are generally hard to understand. I get some parts, but miss other parts. This represents a pitfall to the track.
The other pitfall to this track is the length. It’s under three minutes and, as a result, makes it harder to really enjoy the track. Sections are shortened and by the time I’m really getting into the track, it’s already over. It could have been extended on, really.
Overall, this is a decent track. It’s got great guitar work and decent vocals (good if you don’t really pay much attention to understanding lyrics). The length leaves a bit to be desired as it is a bit short. Still, I’d call it a track worth listening to. In spite of the flaws, it gets a thumbs up from me.
Score
7/10
Drew Wilson on Twitter: @icecube85 and Facebook.
