For better or worse (and it’s most definitely for worse), the majority of conversations these days are covered in Donald Trump’s Filet-O-Fish-greased fingerprints.

Such is the case when Hot Press catch up with Rise Against’s rhythm section in a snug office on the top floor of the Olympia Theatre, ahead of the Chicago-formed punks’ recent Dublin show.

“I mean, there's a lot of shit,” observes bassist Joe Principe.

“We just took a dark turn, unfortunately,” adds drummer Brandon Barnes. “None of us want anything to do with Trump. It's embarrassing. He's a dangerous, dangerous person. He's talking about buying Greenland and creating the Gulf of America.

“It's insulting and crazy stuff that'll never happen.”

Given the (comparative) stability of our own political landscape, it can be hard to process how the host of The Apprentice has managed to weasel his way into the Oval Office, twice. Can the lads, from their American point of view, make any sense of it?

Rise Against at 3Olympia Theatre on January 28, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring- hotpress.com

“I mean, he got elected because everything is really expensive in the U.S. right now,” Brandon says. “So I think people voted for him because they want to be able to pay for their groceries. I think a lot of people that voted for him aren't really aware of how dark his policies are.

“He's doing anything he can to line the pockets of him and his buddies, by deregulating," Joe adds.

“It's common for people to switch parties because they're always looking for something better, cheaper food, cheaper whatever,” Brandon continues. “I'm just always amazed that the U.S. can't come up with better candidates.

“Hopefully in the future we can get some people that are younger and have better ideas.”

A silver lining is that unrest often inspires great protest music. It mightn’t be a fluke that 2025 sees the return of Rise Against with ‘Nod’, their first new material in three years. It’s also, we’re told, the first taste of an album due sometime in the near future.

Painting a backdrop of a scorched Earth landscape, the song stands as an urgent and impassioned call to action. Joe explains that the track was written by frontman Tim McIlrath, as a plea for unity among the wider punk and hardcore communities.

Rise Against at 3Olympia Theatre on January 28, 2025. Copyright Abigail Ring- hotpress.com

“I think that's why we were drawn to the punk scene, to look for something different,” Joe says. “I started skating when I was young, and I gravitated towards counterculture and playing music.

“As we're getting older, there are people in our scene becoming lawyers and politicians.

“I hope that what they learned in the punk scene carries with them through their careers and inspires change within their occupations, where they can actually make change.”

Lyrically, the band have built a reputation on their outspoken social commentary, covering a wide breadth of topics such as political injustice, animal rights, humanitarianism, and environmentalism.

“I mean, there's always stuff to talk about politically,” Brandon says. “There's stuff that we can raise awareness about.”

“We don’t want low hanging fruit to sing about,” Joe adds, “but they’re all around us. A lot of those records were our reaction to what was happening around us. I do feel like after being in the band for 25 years we would have seen progression not regression.”

Still, Rise Against have always committed to imbuing their melodic hardcore with an underlying sense of optimism.

“There were a lot of darker bands coming out [of the Chicago scene], doing the whole goth punk thing,” Joe explains. “Our goal at the time was to have a positive message, and to carry the torch of bands like Seven Seconds and Minor Threat. At the time, there weren't a lot of bands doing that. So I feel like we were fish out of water in Chicago."

• Listen to ‘Nod’ below: