"Rise Today" is a song by American hard rock band

Alter Bridge Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former ba ...

. Written by lead guitarist

Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...

and lead vocalist

Myles Kennedy Myles Richard Bass (born November 27, 1969), known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and the lead vocalist in guitarist S ...

, it was produced by Michael "Elvis" Baskette and appeared on the band's 2007 second studio album '' Blackbird''. The track was released as the lead single from the album on July 31, 2007, peaking at number 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Mainstream Rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent the middle ground between classic rock and active rock ...

chart.

Composition and lyrics

According to Alter Bridge lead guitarist

, "Rise Today" is a song written "about asking yourself what you can do to change the world for the better ..what oucan do to make the world a better place .. andhow you can be a better person". Speaking after the song's release, Tremonti explained that fans had initially misconstrued the meaning of the song somewhat. 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, utit's more of a, you know, let's check ourselves and see if we can do something better for any given situation".

Promotion and release

"Rise Today" was released as the first single from ''Blackbird'' on July 31, 2007. The song was also used in a number of television commercials, including promotional spots for '' CSI: Miami'' and '' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles'' and was used as the main theme song of the

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pay-per-view

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in September 2007. Tremonti described the partnership by noting that "It's kind of an uplifting, energetic song that seems to fit well". "Rise Today" has been performed consistently during live shows since its release; according to

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

aggregation website Setlist.fm, it is the band's second most-frequently performed song, after "Metalingus". It is often played as the final song of the set.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

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. Speaking about the production process, Resteghini commented that "I feel

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is going to be one of my biggest rock videos ever. The song is amazing and the way we shot it, on anamorphic and spherical lenses on 16mm using all kinds of film stocks including reversal film, true black-and-white as well as cross processing some of the neg, allowed me to really get creative with this video".

Reception

Commercial

"Rise Today" entered the US ''

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart at number 32 for the week of August 18, 2007. It peaked at number 3 on the chart three months later, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. On the

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

(then known as Hot Modern Rock Songs) chart, the song entered at number 38 and peaked at number 32, spending 12 weeks in the top 40. Outside of the US, "Rise Today" reached number 3 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart in October 2007.

Critical

In his review of ''Blackbird'', Vik Bansal of

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

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". 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".

Track listings

Chart positions

References

External links

"Rise Today"
music video at

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{{Authority control 2007 songs 2007 singles Alter Bridge songs Songs written by Myles Kennedy Songs written by Mark Tremonti Song recordings produced by Michael Baskette Universal Republic Records singles Music videos directed by Dale Resteghini