Bad Religion
From Punkopedia - The Punk, Hardcore, and Indie Encyclopedia
| Bad Religion | |
|---|---|
 Bad Religion | |
| Music genre(s) | Hardcore Punk, Melodic Hardcore |
| Homebase | Southern CA |
| Years active | 1980 |
| Current Status | Active |
| Notable Records | Stranger Than Fiction |
| Label(s) | Epitaph |
| Website | |
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Bad Religion is an influential punk rock band that was originally formed in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and Jay Ziskrout (drums). This band is often credited for leading the revival of punk rock during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career.
They are known for their socially conscious lyrics and the ability to express their ideology with the use of metaphor, an advanced vocabulary and vocal harmonies known as the "oozin aahs". Bad Religion songs deal with matters of personal as well as political responsibility, and despite the band's moniker, deal more with freedom than atheism.
The band has gone through a large number of personnel changes throughout its history, singer/songwriter Greg Graffin being the sole consistent member. The lineup departure with the largest impact occurred when Brett Gurewitz, Bad Religion's other main songwriter, left in 1994; he rejoined the band in 2001.
Bad Religion continues to record new material and tour.
History
Early career and hiatus (1980-1985)
The album cover for How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982), the band's first full-length studio release.Bad Religion was formed in Los Angeles, California in 1980 by high school students Greg Graffin (vocals, keyboards), Jay Bentley (bass guitar), Jay Ziskrout (drums), and Brett Gurewitz, also known as "Mr. Brett" (guitar). The band's major influences stemmed from earlier punk acts such as The Ramones, The Adolescents, Black Flag, The Germs, and The Sex Pistols. Outside of the punk scene, their influences ranged from Elvis Costello, The Jam, and Nick Lowe to authors like Jack Kerouac. Greg Graffin called his influences "pop sounding rock tunes that were not necessarily commercial."
In 1981, the band released their eponymous debut EP on their own newly-formed label, Epitaph Records, which is managed and owned by Gurewitz. 1982 saw the release of their first full-length album, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, gaining the band a sizeable following. During the recording of How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Jay Ziskrout left the band and was replaced by Peter Finestone.
In 1983, the band released Into the Unknown, a keyboard-driven progressive rock album that was enormously unpopular with the band's core fanbase. It is now officially out of print, after almost all of the 10,000 copies were surreptitiously sold out of the warehouse they were being stored in by Suzy Shaw, an ex-girlfriend of Gurewitz. The record has since become a collectors item, and has also gained acceptance from some fans. It can be seen going for more than 100 dollars on eBay, but is often pirated. A common sign of a pirated version of the LP is the bluish hue on the cover, instead of the reddish hue.
In 1984, Greg Hetson of Circle Jerks fame, who had played the guitar solo for "Part III" on How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, joined to replace Gurewitz, who had gone into rehab for his drug problem. Bad Religion returned to a somewhat mellower, rock and roll version of their original sound with the Back to the Known EP, but disbanded temporarily soon after.
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[edit] Discography
Date of release Title Record label 1982 How Could Hell Be Any Worse? Epitaph Records 1983 Into the Unknown Epitaph Records November, 1988 Suffer Epitaph Records November 2, 1989 No Control Epitaph Records November 23, 1990 Against the Grain Epitaph Records March 12, 1992 Generator Epitaph Records September 21, 1993 Recipe for Hate Epitaph Records( soon after became repressed on atlantic) August 30, 1994 Stranger Than Fiction Atlantic Records February 27, 1996 The Gray Race Atlantic Records May 5, 1998 No Substance Atlantic Records May 9, 2000 The New America Atlantic Records January 22, 2002 The Process of Belief Epitaph Records June 8, 2004 The Empire Strikes First Epitaph Records To be released on June 26, 2007 Untitled 14th Studio Album Epitaph Records
[edit] Members
