Appeal to Reason is the fifth studio album by American punk rock band Rise Against. After touring in support of their previous album, The Sufferer & the Witness, Rise Against began recording Appeal to Reason in January 2008 at the Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado. Recording and production were finished in June, and the album was released in North America on October 7, 2008. The album is the band's first release with guitarist Zach Blair. The album has been certified Gold by the RIAA and platinum by the CRIA.

Appeal to Reason was Rise Against's highest charting album until the release of Endgame, debuting at number three on the Billboard 200 chart and selling 64,700 copies in its first week of release. It received generally favorable reviews from critics. The album produced three singles: "Re-Education (Through Labor)", "Audience of One", and "Savior".

Although commercially successful, Rise Against was greatly criticized by many long-term fans for producing an album that is a dramatic departure compared to Rise Against's previous fast-paced works. Despite this, the album has sold over 600,000 copies in the USA, with one of the songs going Platinum, and another going Gold; it is their most successful album to date.

In May 2007, it was reported that Rise Against was planning to return to the studio after touring in support of their previous album, The Sufferer & the Witness, to begin work on their next album. The band headlined a North American tour supporting The Sufferer & the Witness throughout July and August 2007, instead of attending that year's Warped Tour. When asked in July about the band's plans for a new album, guitarist Zach Blair told ThePunkSite.com that Rise Against would "start writing and recording the record" after touring and would be "writing for a few months" before returning to the studio. He also predicted a summer 2008 release date for the album. In an interview with bassist Joe Principe in August 2007, he stated recording would likely begin around early 2008, although he said "everything could change", but that was "the plan right now". The band continued to tour throughout the rest of 2007, playing several shows in the Taste of Chaos tour and supporting its headliner, The Used.

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