"Despite the rocky vocal performances, Depp and Perry make up for their shortcomings on the guitar. "The Boogieman Surprise" has a woozy, sea-sickening riffs that give way to a big Cooper chorus, and "New Threat" is all blues-rock swagger with the sort of solo that harks back to Aerosmith's Seventies peak. The mix of songs is a little uneven (closing track "Congratulations" is a bizarre slam poem recited by Cooper, Depp, and Perry) but Rise shows where the band's three stars' personalities unite in a Venn diagram and work together well. It's just that these Vampires sound best when they're sharing the same blood source".