It seems that Bad Religion's eighth LP is a rare case of selling out in reverse. Having signed to the big bad major wolf ("what big teeth you have, Grandma Atlantic"), the bandmembers seem too intent on showing their fans they're not going wimpy, so they turn their back on the advances of Generator and Recipe for Hate in order to bring back the ...
Punk veterans Bad Religion don't rely on bankrupt laurels, nostalgia, or a facade of long-expired cool. LP after LP, they just set vicious hooks, a blitzkrieg attack, and potent lyrics to soaring singer Greg Graffin's piledriving passion. It's easy to take them for granted, to view Recipe as just another red-hot LP (ho hum) by the last and best ...
Based on only one or two listens to The Process of Belief, one would be tempted to retitle it The Process of Backsliding. It's like a batch of outtakes from their 1988 comeback LP, Suffer, or the amazing juggernauts that followed, No Control and Against the Grain. But successive immersions into the new LP's brute, lashing power and wild honey ...
It's a testament to a band that their weakest work is still this great. There's no question that the loss of guitarist Brett Gurewitz hurts the band. Gurewitz had a hot, edgy sound, and wrote half the songs, including all four singles off 1994's stunning Stranger Than Fiction. Losing such an awesome talent would cripple most groups. Fortunately, ...
In early 2004, Epitaph released remastered versions of four Bad Religion LPs, as well as a tour film dating from 1989. Suffer was always one of the band's strongest albums, marking the reunion of its original lineup, tighter playing, and the blazing erudition of cuts like "Land of Competition," "You Are (The Government)," and "What Can You Do?" ...
Not that this hasn't been done before on albums like Wood Panel Pacer Wagon With Mags and Bllllaaarrrrrggghhh!-A Music War (which was on a 7" format no less), but that doesn't mean a compilation featuring over 100 bands on one record never fails to entertain. And the advantage Short Music for Short People has in comparison to the aforementioned ...
Another title for All Ages might be "The Best of Bad Religion Before Recipe for Hate." Which makes sense: Since the band's last two LPs, Recipe and Stranger Than Fiction, are owned and distributed by Atlantic, this is a great overview of the band's prior six albums for those who only got into the band since the major label got involved. Here's ...
Todd Rundgren may seem like an odd choice of producer for Bad Religion, but as The New America illustrates, it was an inspired, even necessary, one for the veteran Californian punkers. Bad Religion painted themselves into a corner in the late '90s, adhering to the literate, hard-driving punk that marked their indie releases. That may have kept ...
Suffer had already wound the meter on Bad Religion's Cali hardcore even tighter -- No Control simply and forcefully continued the shift, delivering a pummel of melodic songwriting made sharp by Greg Graffin's populist cynicism and the stinging barbs of a twin-guitar strike. The remastering for the 2004 version greatly amplified the album's volume. ...
In 2004, Bad Religion supplemented a magazine of reissues with one in the chamber called The Empire Strikes First. Given the state of affairs and activism of peers like NOFX's Fat Mike, it's natural for Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, and company to point their measured seethe and trademark erudition against shady politics and policies of preemptive ...
It's one thing for a band to merely manage to stay together for 20-plus years, but it's an entirely different thing altogether to effortlessly remain relevant and vital along the way. Bad Religion has already proved their skill, releasing solid albums every few years for a while now, and New Maps of Hell is no different. It finds that the guys don ...
The third in a flurry of releases that followed Bad Religion's 1988 reunion, Against the Grain found the band's edge honed sharper than it had been in years. Epitaph's 2004 remaster respects this. Increased clarity between mouthpiece Greg Graffin, guitarists Brett Gurewitz and Greg Hetson, and the rhythm section of Jay Bentley and Pete Finestone ...
Solution to Benefit Heal the Bay is a double-disc compilation ranging from latter-day punk and third-wave ska to hip-hop, electronica, and club music, all in the service of the Heal the Bay Foundation, an environmental organization dedicated to cleaning up coastal waters. Fifteen of the 27 tracks are previously unreleased, including material from ...
Culled almost entirely from two important, early-'80s So-Cal punk compilations, this CD is red hot a decade later. This is 15/18ths of 1982's Someone Got Their Head Kicked In (all but the three Blades tracks, which though good were the least of the LP), and 10/16ths of 1984's Something to Believe In (missing are the tracks by Unwanted -- L.A.'s, ...
This 2004 edition of Generator is part of a bulk of remastered and/or expanded Bad Religion material from Epitaph. Like its tweaked brethren, the digitally revitalized Generator is louder overall, and more crisp. The newfound clarity gives the whip crack of anthems like "Too Much to Ask," "Tomorrow," and "Chimaera" even more bite, accentuates the ...
Culled from tapes of 60 concerts Bad Religion gave during 1996 on the Gray Race tour, the European-only Tested is a reasonably effective document of the group at the peak of their post-Brett Gurewitz power. Since the 27 tracks are taken from separate shows, the album never quite gains momentum like an actual live show, yet many of the individual ...
Generator demonstrates an improved sense of melody from Greg Graffin, which doesn't mean Bad Religion have abandoned their blistering hardcore inclinations. Instead, the band has managed to incorporate melody within the framework, adding an increased depth to their already provocative songs. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
The seventh installment in Epitaph Records' ongoing series of budget-priced punk samplers, Punk-o-Rama, Vol. 7 presents another 19 songs from as many bands, all offering their own variations on the state of the fast/loud thing. If you're looking for a dizzying variety of sounds and styles here, well, you're out of luck -- most of what's here is ...
It would be inaccurate to say that Epitaph's Punk-O-Rama compilations cater to punk purists 100 percent of the time. Not everything on Punk-O-Rama, Vol. 4, which Epitaph assembled in 1999, is hardcore punk -- some of the material is simply alternative rock with a strong punk influence. But it is safe to say that Vol. 4 is punk-oriented, and it is ...
Music to Kill For is a low-priced get-acquainted-with-our-artists sampler from Side 1 Dummy Records containing a variety of punk and third-wave ska tracks, by both well-known and up-and-coming artists. Among those featured are Bad Religion, the Bouncing Souls, No Use for a Name, the Swingin' Utters, the Pilfers, Custom Made Scare, and Murphy's Law ...
The second in Epitaph's sampler series, this record was the first to come with the low price cap. While it's a great, inexpensive introduction to the label's heavyweights -- Bad Religion, Pennywise, NOFX, Rancid -- and has some classic punk vets that joined the Epitaph roster -- Descendents, T.S.O.L. -- it contains only one previously unreleased ...
World Warped, Vol. 3: Live was released as a precursor to the 2000 Warped Tour, a package tour featuring some of the biggest punk-pop and third-wave ska acts on the scene. The disc spotlights a number of acts who at one point or another have participated in the Warped Tour, but in spite of its title, it does not include performances actually ...
As a promotional device, Punk-O-Rama is above reproach. Cramming over 20 songs from over 20 different artists on Epitaph's roster onto one disc, and then offering it for under five dollars -- well, there's no denying that it's a bargain, even if you're not fond of the music itself. And there's no better way to determine whether you like this aggro ...
The reasonably priced Cinema Beer Belly, Vol. 4 sampler compiles punk revival, garage-rock, and third-wave ska tracks from both established and up-and-coming bands. Not everything hits the mark, but enough of it does to make this a worthwhile pickup for anyone who doesn't already have most of these tracks on the bands' individual releases. Artists ...
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