#26: Bad Religion

God I want to be a man but I don't want to die with a rifle in my hands. And as the planes blacken the sky it sounds like Heaven is falling.

"I bought 'Suffer' then I bought a thesaurus"-NOFX

Next up is Bad Religion, probably the most respected band in all of punk rock

Wiki Says: Bad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1979 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars), and Jay Ziskrout (drums). They are often credited for being involved in the revival of punk rock and inspiring several subsequent punk bands during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career. In the 31 years since its inception, Bad Religion has had numerous lineup changes, and Graffin has been the only constant member, although the band currently features three out of the original four members.

To date, Bad Religion has released fourteen studio albums (with a fifteenth due out in the fall of 2010), two EPs, three compilation albums, two live recordings, and two DVDs. Almost all of the band's albums were released on Epitaph Records, started in 1980 by Gurewitz, who still runs the label today. Their 1988 album Suffer has been cited by some critics as one of the most important punk rock albums of all time, although it was not charted in Billboard. The next three albums, No Control, Against the Grain and Generator were also highly acclaimed. When they signed to the major label Atlantic Records, Bad Religion rose to fame with their 1993 album Recipe for Hate, which reached number 14 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, marking the highest initial charting album in the band's career. Their next album, Stranger Than Fiction, featuring the band's well-known hit singles "21st Century (Digital Boy)" and "Infected", was also successful and became the only Bad Religion album to obtain gold status in the US. Following Gurewitz's departure in 1994, Graffin took over the majority of the songwriting duties, which lasted for the next three albums. Gurewitz returned to the fold in 2001, making Bad Religion a six-piece band, and contributed to their three most recent albums. The band has finished recording a new studio album, entitled The Dissent of Man, which is scheduled for release on September 28, 2010, and will also mark the first time that a Bad Religion line-up had not changed in four consecutive studio recordings.

They are particularly known for their use of soaring 3 part vocal harmonies (which they refer to in their album liner notes as the "oozin' aahs"), wide vocabulary, and political or religious commentary. Their lyrics often relate to matters of social responsibility.

Discovery: How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982)
Into the Unknown (1983)
Suffer (1988)
No Control (1989)
Against the Grain (1990)
Generator (1992)
Recipe for Hate (1993)
Stranger Than Fiction (1994)
The Gray Race (1996)
No Substance (1998)
The New America (2000)
The Process of Belief (2002)
The Empire Strikes First (2004)
New Maps of Hell (2007)
The Dissent of Man (2010)

Favorite Songs: 10. Supersonic
9. Big Bang
8. Shattered Faith
7. We're Only Gonna Die
6. Los Angeles is Burning
5. Fuck Armageddon...This is Hell
4. Generator
3. Sorrow
2. Anesthesia
1. Heaven is Falling

Years Active: 1979-Present

Seen Live: Twice (Warped Tour 2008/2009)

Bad Religion are not atheists. They use religion as a metaphor for lack of independent thoughts. They are really, really good. There really isn't much I can say here that will do justice to exactly how good they are.

Up Next: A band that has dropped off the face of the earth...