Chicago’s Rise Against just released a powerful live video performance of their new single “Last Man Standing,” filmed at Southside Festival in Germany, where they headlined in front of an audience of 40,000.
“Last Man Standing” is the lead single of their new EP Nowhere Generation II, which is out now via Loma Vista Recordings.
Released last month, Nowhere Generation II, was shared to celebrate the one year anniversary of Rise Against’s chart-topping, critically acclaimed ninth album Nowhere Generation.
The five song collection—written and recorded alongside Nowhere Generation and featuring production by Bill Stevenson (The Descendents, Black Flag)—was released alongside a Ryan Valdez-directed video for “Last Man Standing.”
“‘Last Man Standing’ was a way of expressing some frustration with our world in regards to exploitation, public alienation, and human inequality,” explains Valdez. “As you see in the video, we are fed through this race of survival. Only to be taken down, regardless of our success or efforts. Almost as if the game was rigged, designed to set us up for failure.”
The triumphantly rousing song picks up the lyrical baton of Nowhere Generation’s“Talking To Ourselves” with a full-throated reminder of what could happen if those in power continue to ignore the voice of the people. “I think of Rise Against as dystopian art,” says McIlrath. “Like any good dystopian art endeavor, you’re singing about the world and what it might be like if we keep going down the road we’re going down. It’s the inevitable conclusion of what would happen if we keep making the same decisions. That’s what dystopian art is designed to do, to make you realize that and inspire you to make some changes. ‘Last Man Standing’ is looking down that road and trying to paint a picture of what it looks like.”