Rise Against released one of 2008’s most gripping punk albums, Appeal to Reason (the band’s fifth LP), and the Chicago crew are going to hit the road with Rancid this summer. But first, a new video for fresh single “Audience of One.” The full video premiered on MySpace on January 15th, but click above for a special behind-the-video special packed with exclusive footage of frontman Tim McIlrath and Co. explaining the clip’s concept and execution. The Brett Simon-directed video features an impressive town built in miniature, but unsurprisingly, it’s a town with clear political overtones: there’s a mini Iraq war scene (the band counts the health-care of war vets as one of its big concerns), a forest suffering from clear-cutting, and homes being foreclosed, as well as a woman on a house trying to escape the rising flood waters of Hurricane Katrina.

The band recently announced their upcoming summer trek with Rancid, telling fans, “Few things are more exciting than watching Bush finally release America as his eight year hostage, but if anything could rival that news, it’s this: We are more than pleased to announce that we will have the honor of touring the U.S. & Canada with punk rock legends Rancid this summer. If Tim Armstrong didn’t confirm it personally backstage in L.A. a few weeks ago, we wouldn’t believe it either.”

When the band saw Reason debut at Number Three last year — their biggest week ever — McIlrath told RS, “That a band like us can crack the Top 10 speaks volumes about how frustrated people are with the world. People are looking for bands that reflect the questions they have about what’s going on.”

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• Live Exclusive: Rise Against’s “Blood to Bleed” From Hurricane Festival
• Album Review: Appeal to Reason