of their music. Sonic Iguana Studios, where Rise Against recorded The Unraveling, and another studio in San Francisco were both busy at the time, leaving the band members only thirty days to record. They decided on Bill Stevenson—the former drummer of the punk band Descendents—and Jason Livermore to produce the album. Before the recording process began, the band members wrote songs for the album above an antique store in Chicago, an environment that McIlrath described as "roach-infested". Revolutions per Minute was recorded at The Blasting Room in Fort Collins, Colorado, from November to December 2002. Stevenson and Livermore produced the album; Stevenson also served as the engineer and mixer, while Livermore mastered the album. McIlrath commented that Stevenson was the perfect person to produce the album, as he not only understood the nuances of the band, but was also their "musical soul mate". Revolutions per Minute was the first album that McIlrath played guitar on. He was nervous about playing the guitar, as no one had ever scrutinized his ability, and described the process as "playing blindly into the wind and hoping it was good enough". Composition Musically, Revolutions per Minute is rooted in hardcore punk and melodic hardcore. Stuart Green of Exclaim! opined that the album exhibited greater musical maturity when compared to The Unraveling, specifically for the inclusion of mood and texture. These comments were echoed by Punknews.org's Aubin Paul, who noted the album's overall "darker" tone. The first track on Revolutions per Minute is "Black Masks & Gasoline", which features "power chords" and rapid drumming. Its lyrics advocate for a revolution against a vengeful government, and contain imagery of raised hands and clenched fists. The second track, "Heaven Knows", makes use of "serrated, slingshot hooks", with lyrics that deal with "personal strife". The next track, "Dead Ringer", is a short hardcore song that chastises those who felt that the band had sold out due to their growing popularity. Jo-Ann Greene of AllMusic believes that "Halfway There" is about the need for a real leader and questioning the current leaders' action, bolstered by McIlrath's screaming vocals. The fifth track, "Like the Angel", begins with strumming of the bass guitar, before transitioning into a "poppy" beat about unrequited love. "Voices Off Camera:" is one of the more accessible songs on the album, with McIlrath singing in a softer voice. In contrast, "Blood-Red, White, & Blue" is described by Matthew