Bad Religion is an American punk rock band founded in Southern California in 1980 by Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars) and Jay Ziskrout (drums). They are often credited for leading the revival of punk rock and inspiring pop-punk bands during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career. In the 29 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 of the original four members.
To date, Bad Religion has released fourteen studio albums, two EPs, three compilation albums, one live recording, and two DVDs. Their 1988 album Suffer has been regarded by some critics as one of the most important punk rock albums of all time, although it was not charted in Billboard. 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 highly successful and became the only Bad Religion album to obtain gold status in the US. Following Gurewitz's departure in 1994, Bad Religion declined in popularity and poor record sales continued until the release of The New America in 2000. 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 discussed the possibility of recording their next studio album, which is expected to be released in 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 sophisticated use of style, metaphor, vocabulary, imagery, and vocal harmonies (which they refer to in their album liner notes as the "oozin aahs".) Lyrics are often reflective on matters of personal feelings or of personal or social responsibility.
Status: Active
Rock if you like: Pennywise - Good Riddance - Minor Threat
Track listing:
1 - You Are (The Government)
2 - 1000 More Fools
3 - How Much Is Enough?
4 - When?
5 - Give You Nothing
6 - Land Of Competition
7 - Forbidden Beat
8 - Best For You
9 - Suffer
10 - Delirium Of Disorder
11 - Part II (The Numbers Game)
12 - What Can You Do?
13 - Do What You Want
14 - Part IV (The Index Fossil)
15 - Pessimistic Lines
