Riot Act

Riot Act is the seventh studio album by American rock band Pearl Jam, released November 12, 2002 through Epic Records. Following a full-scale tour in support of their previous album, Binaural (2000), Pearl Jam took a year-long break. The band reconvened in the beginning of 2002 and commenced work on a new album. The music on the album was diverse, including songs influenced by folk, art rock and experimental rock. The lyrics deal with mortality and existentialism, with influence from both the political climate after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the accidental death of nine fans during Pearl Jam's performance at the 2000 Roskilde Festival.

The band supported the album with a politically charged concert tour in 2003. Riot Act was the band's last album of all-new material for Epic. The album received mostly positive reviews, and has been certified gold by the RIAA in the United States.

Riot Act received mixed to favorable reviews from music critics according to Metacritic, where it holds a 73 after 20 reviews. NME gave Riot Act an eight out of ten. Reviewer Louis Pattison stated that "Riot Act is the sound of a band entering a powerful middle-age. They still deserve your attention."

AllMusic staff writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, saying "given several plays, this does indeed seem like the richest record Pearl Jam has made in a long time."

Spin gave the album seven out of ten stars. The review said, "Pearl Jam's seventh studio album balances emotive bombast with a taut-sweaty hard-rock attack."

Critic Robert Christgau described Pearl Jam on the album as "masters of their own audio, with soft spots where their emotions can go."

Rolling Stone staff writer Keith Harris gave the album three out of five stars, saying that "like Neil Young at his most deliberately despondent, Pearl Jam sound purposefully tired."

This article uses material from the Wikipedia page dedicated to this album. No copyright infringement is intended.