From Rise Against's "Help Is on the Way"

This week Rise Against celebrates a No. 2 start of "Endgame" on The Billboard 200, but also remembers with solemnity a fearful part of American history.

The music video to "Help Is on the Way" follows the general lyrical thread of the single, featuring a family struggling with the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina over a day during the disaster.

"Directed by the esteemed Alan Ferguson, our film crew went to New Orleans and filmed what became a dramatic and compelling narrative of Hurricane Katrina through the eyes of a family. As a band, we opted out of being a part of the piece for fear our role might diminish the importance of this video and skew it's reception. What follows is another video we are proud to put our name on," reads a statement on the punk-inspired rock act's website.

The story is simple and simply told, a poor family pushed up through its home as the waters rise, after the levees break. They pray for rescue and flip through their own family history as dead bodies float in the water and other stragglers seek refuge on their roof. Rise Against leave it off with a message to encourage donations.

[More after the jump...]

Katrina was only five-and-a-half years ago, but the images of those flood waters, the Superdome and trees flying from the ground still make my heart stop. The group purposefully opted out of a sepia-toned video in a warehouse somewhere, sporting cool clothes and rocking out with melancholia painted all over their face. They went for a artifact of truth instead. I've got respect for that (though the track isn't my cup of tea). 

Check 'er out below (if link doesn't work, try the website above):