Epitaph Records
Released: September 24th, 2010
Ok I won't lie: Bad Religion was one of the first punk bands I ever got into. I've probably listened to them for half of my life now. They been around for as long as I've been around on this planet (15 fucking albums now!). So this band has nostalgic meaning for me. And although my tastes have greatly diversified since those snotty, teenage punkrock days, I'll always have a place in my heart for punkrock (hell I'm wearing Subhumans "Religious Wars" t-shirt as I type this).
So I'll always check out a new Bad Religion album when one comes out. Their time Atlantic Records carreer was complete crap (Stranger Than Fiction was OK). But when they returned to Epitaph for The Process of Belief in 2002 (and a reunion with guitarist Mr. Brett) it signaled a comeback of sorts. It was a great album, but since then, the spark they got from the return has waned. Each subsequent album has been lacking. Sure the hooks are there, the whoas, the ooooh, the ahhs, the biting social commentary, and all of the other bag of tricks that the band uses are all there. But its just lacking something.
I find when I listen to The Dissent of Man that I hear bits and pieces of the entire Bad Religion back catalog. There's some Suffer-era guitar noodling, Recipe for Hate hooks, and more recent melodic output. The album is an ok listen. There is some standout tracks like "The Resist Stance", "Meeting of the Minds" and "Turn Your Back on Me" but for the most part, there isn't anything here you haven't heard before.
And if you haven't listened to Bad Religion, you should pick up 1989's No Control. Amazing shit.
Similar: Pennywise, Ramones, The Clash
Rating: 6.5
My roomates listened to Bad Religion non-stop in undergrad and I hated it's oil-slick production. But then... I picked up a copy of "How Can Hell Be Any Worse" on tape at CFRU radio Guelph and the music director let me take it home. That thing was played until the magnetic tape was clear. Brilliant.
ReplyDelete