Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. Their current line-up consists of four members: Tim McIlrath (vocals, guitar), Joe Principe (bass guitar), Brandon Barnes (drums), and Zach Blair (guitar). To date, Rise Against has released five albums, a rare material EP, and one DVD.

Rise Against rose to fame with their first two major label releases, Siren Song of the Counter Culture (2004) and The Sufferer & the Witness (2006), with hits such as "Give It All", "Swing Life Away", "Prayer of the Refugee", and "The Good Left Undone". Their most recent studio album, Appeal to Reason, was released in North America on October 7, 2008.

Rise Against was formed in 1999 by former members of the bands 88 Fingers Louie and Baxter following the break up of 88 Fingers Louie. The first lineup consisted of Tim McIlrath (vocals), Joe Principe (bass and vocals), Tony Tintari (drums), and Mr. Precision (guitar and vocals). Though the band never performed live with this lineup, it released a self-produced demo/EP entitled Transistor Revolt in 2000, a year before signing with Fat Wreck Chords to release its first two albums, The Unraveling (produced by veteran punk producer Mass Giorgini), and Revolutions per Minute (produced by Bill Stevenson at The Blasting Room) in 2001 and 2003. A re-issued version of The Unraveling was also released on August 23, 2005 through Fat Wreck Chords with bonus tracks.

Tintari left after recording the original Transistor Revolt Demo, and Mr. Precision also left the band in 2001. Mr. Precision was replaced by Kevin White during The Unraveling touring cycle, but he also left and was then replaced by Todd Mohney to complete the cycle and begin writing Revolutions per Minute. The band toured extensively on these two records, accepting invitations from the likes of Sick Of It All, NOFX, Agnostic Front, No Use for a Name, AFI, Strung Out and the Mad Caddies. Revolutions per Minute received critical acclaim and attracted the interest of several labels.

All of the group's members are strict vegetarians (as stated in an online interview that also talks about Joe's love of pizza) and active supporters of PETA. Their video for the single "Ready to Fall" addresses environmental degradation and its effect on animals, as well as animal cruelty inherent in factory farming and sport hunting. The group has called the video the most important video Rise Against has ever made. The Director's Cut of the video was first made available to a PETA website.