New Bad Religion album (review) (punk, rock, American, reviews)

Epitaphfan · 07-31-2007, 07:09 PM

I don't normally do album reviews, but **** it, here goes:

Bad religion is definitely one of those bands that will never go away. Luckily for the good people at Epitaph Records, their new album New Maps of Hell is just as good as anything they’ve ever put out.

With any band, artist (or anything else), timing is essentially everything. With every passing pocket of time also comes a particular moment, a particular sound or voice that just seems to make sense in that particular place and at that particular time. Case in point: Bad Religion during the 1980’s. Ultimately, the bad Religion we know today would not have existed had it not been for the economical/social/political climate of the Reagan Era and the millions of listeners who rebelled against it. Of course, as we all know, as political/social landscapes transform themselves, the music and culture of that period must also adapt alongside it, lest it become a nostalgic product stuck in time. I don’t care how good the songs are on Paul Mcartney’s new album (in fact, they’re not actually that bad), but the truth is, his songs are no longer relevant to American youth and no one gives a ****.

Initially, before writing this review, I thought I would be throwing Bad Religion in this category of irrelevant artists, but events within the past month will not allow me to do so. First off, I checked out the Warped tour earlier this summer and was blown away by how receptive the fans (especially the young fans) were to Bad Religion. And although, the “classics” like “generator” and “I want to conquer the world” got the best response, the tracks on their new album got a solid reaction as well. Had they been release two decades earlier, some of the songs on New Maps of Hell would have made the All Ages greatest hits album, easily. Greg Graffin’s voice sounds as good as ever, the vocal harmonies still kick ass, and the solos are still heavy and melodic. And although the melodic chorus of “honest good-bye” could have just as easily been written by Rivers Cuomo, this is still classic Bad Religion and it still rocks.

So there you have it. The true challenge is to remove the biases of time and change. If you are able to do this (and I lot of people are, although I normally have trouble with it), you will find a classic Bad Religion album that you’ve never heard before.

Dragoro · 08-11-2007, 03:38 PM

Irrelevant? that shows what you know about punk. As for the reagan era comments, it had nothing to do with reagan. They are a totally socialist band, it wouldnt of mattered who was in office.

swim · 08-11-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Epitaphfan

Luckily for the good people at Epitaph Records, their new album New Maps of Hell is just as good as anything they’ve ever put out.

Epitaph is Brett Gurewitz's label.

sleepy jack · 08-11-2007, 04:08 PM

I have a hard time believing someone who registered as Epitaphfan only to post this one review on them and that is all didn't think he'd like the album.

username · 08-13-2007, 11:34 PM

greg graffin's the ****. he makes the band. the new album is all right but no control is better

07-31-2007, 07:09 PM	#1 (permalink)
Epitaphfan Groupie Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 1	New Bad Religion album (review) I don't normally do album reviews, but ** it, here goes: Bad religion is definitely one of those bands that will never go away. Luckily for the good people at Epitaph Records, their new album New Maps of Hell is just as good as anything they’ve ever put out. With any band, artist (or anything else), timing is essentially everything. With every passing pocket of time also comes a particular moment, a particular sound or voice that just seems to make sense in that particular place and at that particular time. Case in point: Bad Religion during the 1980’s. Ultimately, the bad Religion we know today would not have existed had it not been for the economical/social/political climate of the Reagan Era and the millions of listeners who rebelled against it. Of course, as we all know, as political/social landscapes transform themselves, the music and culture of that period must also adapt alongside it, lest it become a nostalgic product stuck in time. I don’t care how good the songs are on Paul Mcartney’s new album (in fact, they’re not actually that bad), but the truth is, his songs are no longer relevant to American youth and no one gives a **. Initially, before writing this review, I thought I would be throwing Bad Religion in this category of irrelevant artists, but events within the past month will not allow me to do so. First off, I checked out the Warped tour earlier this summer and was blown away by how receptive the fans (especially the young fans) were to Bad Religion. And although, the “classics” like “generator” and “I want to conquer the world” got the best response, the tracks on their new album got a solid reaction as well. Had they been release two decades earlier, some of the songs on New Maps of Hell would have made the All Ages greatest hits album, easily. Greg Graffin’s voice sounds as good as ever, the vocal harmonies still kick ass, and the solos are still heavy and melodic. And although the melodic chorus of “honest good-bye” could have just as easily been written by Rivers Cuomo, this is still classic Bad Religion and it still rocks. So there you have it. The true challenge is to remove the biases of time and change. If you are able to do this (and I lot of people are, although I normally have trouble with it), you will find a classic Bad Religion album that you’ve never heard before.

08-11-2007, 03:38 PM	#2 (permalink)
Dragoro Groupie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 1	Irrelevant? that shows what you know about punk. As for the reagan era comments, it had nothing to do with reagan. They are a totally socialist band, it wouldnt of mattered who was in office.

08-13-2007, 11:34 PM	#5 (permalink)
username Groupie Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 9	greg graffin's the ****. he makes the band. the new album is all right but no control is better