"Rise Today" is a song recorded and performed by hard rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

 band Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge

Alter Bridge is an American rock band that was formed in 2004 in Orlando, Florida by lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall, and drummer Scott Phillips, who are all also members of Creed. Lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, formerly of The Mayfield Four and the frontman...

. The song was released as the first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in promotion of the band's second studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

, Blackbird

Blackbird (album)

Blackbird is the second studio album by rock band Alter Bridge, released on October 9, 2007. The first single, "Rise Today", was released on July 30, 2007. The album peaked at number 13 on the Billboard 200, selling 47,000 copies in its first week on the charts. As of December 2008, Blackbird has...

. "Rise Today" is one of the band's most well-known songs.

The song is about making the world a better place ("I want to rise today/And change this world") and raises the question "Was the enemy just your brother all along?" Lyrically, it is one of the band's most uplifting songs. Singer Myles Kennedy

Myles Kennedy

Myles Richard Kennedy is an American musician and singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge, and as the lead vocalist in Slash's current solo project...

 plays lead guitar on "Rise Today" except for the ending guitar solo, which is performed by Mark Tremonti

Mark Tremonti

Mark Thomas Tremonti is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the American rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands...

.

Slash

Slash (musician)

Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...

 and Myles Kennedy, who have toured together in support of Slash's self-titled debut solo album, have covered this song on tour. Their version can be found on the rare live album Live in Manchester

Live in Manchester (Slash album)

Live in Manchester is a double live album by former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash featuring Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy. The album was recorded by Abbey Road Live, during Slash's solo show at the Manchester Academy on July 3, 2010...

. Slash also joined Alter Bridge on stage in Stockholm on November 2, 2010 to perform the song, and has appeared on stage with Alter Bridge several times since. Alter Bridge has closed their concerts with this song since the release of Blackbird.

Track listing

iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 digital single

1. "Rise Today" (Radio Edit) - 4:13

UK commercial single

1. "Rise Today" (Radio Edit) - 4:09
2. "New Way to Live" - 5:40

Chart performance

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Chart (2007)	Peak position
US Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... )	2