It took me a long time to get into Bad Religion.  Their sound and lyrical content were not immediately digestible to me as a young Green Day fan in middle school.  It’s shameful, but the truth.  It wasn’t until much later that I dove into the history of punk and rediscovered Bad Religion.  This is what I think of them, album by album.

How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982)

How Could Hell Be Any Worse? feels like a live album.  The recording levels aren’t the best, the vocals sound washed out, the drums are all but lost, and the energy is palatable.  It is truly a great early eighties Hardcore Punk album.

It’s obvious from the first words of the album that Greg hadn’t found his signature voice yet.  He attempts to use a basic hardcore yell style, but it simply doesn’t fit his voice.  Obviously he didn’t know how awesome his voice would sound later, so I’m willing to let it slide.

This is a solid hardcore punk album and a welcomed addition to any punk collection.  It’s short, it’s fun, it’s energetic.

Grade: B+

Best Song: Pity

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Worst Song: Voice of God is Government

Into the Unknown (1983)

17 seconds into this album you realize something is off.  It’s at that point the synthesizer kicks in and kills your memory of the Hardcore Punk band you once loved.

It’s not that this album is bad, it’s that this album is terrible.  Bad Religion playing Progressive Rock is not what I want to hear.  The only good thing to come from this album was Greg feeling out his vocal abilities. Nothing else on this album is redeemable.  Truly a missed opportunity.

Grade: F

Best Song: Billy Gnosis

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Worst Song: Time and Disregard

Suffer (1988)

Often considered the definitive Bad Religion album, Suffer shows Bad Religion finding their signature sound.  Greg now has his singing style mastered and the band behind him understands the form of punk rock they’re playing.  The melding of these elements forms a very solid punk album.

Although short by any standards, 15 tracks pass by in 26 minutes, there is still a lot said.  Bad Religion’s “smart lyrics” begin to take shape and social ideas become more prominent in the subject matter.  It’s refreshing to listen to punk music that has something to say.  At this point it’s obvious that Bad Religion are something special.

Grade: B

Best Song: You Are (The Government)

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Worst Song: Do What You Want

No Control (1989)

The mastering of this album seems off.  The vocals are far too clean and prominent.  It sounds more like a Green Day album than a Bad Religion album, which is not a good thing.

In contrast to earlier releases, Bad Religion begins to play slower music on this album, and it pays off.  The contrast of the fast and slow songs is excellent, but overall it fails to make the album stand out from the pack.   Overall No Control feels like a practice round for later albums; for example, when you first hear Progress you’ll swear you’re listening to a demo of Infected.  This album feels like filler to meet a quota.  It’s easily skipable.

Grade: C

Best Song: Henchman

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Worst Song: Anxiety

Against the Grain (1990)

By this point Bad Religion knew who they were as a band.  They had comfortably found their nitch in Punk Rock and it seemed they were happy to stay there.

Here on Against the Grain they don’t stray from their signature sound of quick punk and intelligent lyrics, but you do find them continuing to stray from the hardcore punk sound of the early eighties.  This album continues to build on the idea that punk can be created with four notes repeated for two minutes.

Luckily this album brings the energy back that was missing from the previous albums, which is odd because the songs are longer and at a slower pace.  This is the magic of Bad Religion, they can take punk songs that are not at breakneck speeds and make them feel as if they are flying by.  This is the first album that demonstrates this.  I consider Against the Grain to be the first Bad Religion album to have the perfected Bad Religion sound.

Grade: A

Best Song: Modern Man

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Worst Song: Blenderhead

Generator (1992)

Bad Religion continues to demonstrate how they’ve matured as a band and as lyricists on Generator.  The songs demonstrate the complexity that Punk can have if time is taken to cultivate melody and meter.  The signature slower songs continue, but feel more refined and rehearsed than before.  It’s as if Bad Religion listened to Against the Grain and decided they liked the direction they went and this is their attempt to recreate the album.

At times the album veers into blues territory.  While I like the idea of the fusion punk blues style, it simply doesn’t work for them here.  Two Babies in the Dark sticks out like a sore thumb because the style simply doesn’t match the rest of the album.

Grade: C+

Best Song: Generator

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Worst Song: Two Babies in the Dark

Recipe for Hate (1993)

Bad Religion continued their experimentation with genre fusion on Recipe for Hate without success.  Here they expand the concept beyond a single song and go for almost an entire album of punkish blues and country.  The album feels like a weak attempt to diversify their sound and appeal to as many people as possible, which may explain why Eddie Vedder was brought in to supply additional vocals on a couple of songs.

The blues and country songs feel more like bad Me First and the Gimme Gimmes covers minus the energy.  At times you get a mental picture of Greg sitting in a rocking chair drinking a Bud Lite while recording the vocal track.

Grade: D

Best Song: Kerosene

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Worst Song: Watch it Die

Stranger than Fiction (1994)

A return to form!  Bad Religion’s first album after signing to a major record company (Atlantic) is their best in years.  They finally ditch their genre experimentation and focus their sound on what they really are, a solid punk band.  The songs are melodic, fast, and well written.  It shows off the talent Bad Religion has for writing quality punk songs that aren’t afraid to touch on important messages.

This album was also a wake up call to the band and to the fans.  It demonstrates the power a record company can have over a band.  Stranger than Fiction has the second inclusion of 21st Century (Digital Boy) at the insistence of Sony.  Sony told the band they didn’t have a single on the album, so they forced Bad Religion to rerecord the song.  Their days of complete creative control were over for the length of their contract.

Stranger than Fiction’s sound is focused, the lyrics are hard hitting, and the message is clear.  This album stands as the point that Bad Religion drew a line in the sand and stated who they were.  Because of the clear vision and solid sound, Stranger than Fiction is the album that all other Bad Religion releases are measured against.

Grade: A

Best Song: Individual

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Worst Song: Slumber

The Gray Race (1996)

Bad Religion’s first album without Mr. Brett, who served as both lyricist and guitar player for all previously released albums, feels weak.  The addition of Brian Baker, of Minor Threat and Dag Nasty fame, helps to soften the blow, but the loss of Brett is significant and can be heard in the music.

Not that The Gray Race is a bad album by any stretch of the imagination, but as a followup to the genre defining Stranger than Fiction, it is a let down.  It’s as if Greg wanted to make up for the sadness of loosing Brett by making an album that isn’t as down and negative as previous releases, and it doesn’t work.

Bad Religion is a sorrow and downer band, plain and simple.  They speak to the truths of life, the good and the bad.  The Gray Race feels more like a “We can do it if we try hard enough” album, and it doesn’t work.  This is shown perfectly on Punk Rock Song.  Breaking the third wall to tell the listener that their music is nothing but a song is sad.  It doesn’t focus on the message, rather it tells the listener that the music is meaningless because it’s just a song.

This isn’t a bad album, it’s a frustrating album.  You listen knowing they can and have done better.  With each song you hope they remember what they once were, but it never happens.  In the end you feel saddened by what they’ve lost and not looking forward to more of the same.

Grade: C-

Best Song: Come Join Us

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Worst Song: Punk Rock Song

No Substance (1998)

The lack of Mr. Brett is blinding by this point.  By now it feels more like Bad Religion is a poor cover band trying their best to sound like Bad Religion, but failing.  Greg’s vocals attempt to make up for the lack luster music.  It simply feels like they’re simply going through the motions with no real drive.  It’s as if Bad Religion signed their record contract, released one awesome album, then decided to wing it for the remainder of the contract.

You know things have gone downhill when they have to interject filler songs like Raise Your Voice! on an album to spurn up energy.  The forced exclamation point in the song title is an indication of how forced this album feels.

Their isn’t much to say about No Substance, the title itself speaks bounds about the album.  It’s bland, it’s boring, and it’s unnecessary.

Grade: D-

Best Song: Sowing the Seeds of Utopia

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Worst Song: Raise Your Voice!

The New America (2000)

Bad Religion’s final release for Atlantic finds them continuing to suffer to find their voice without Mr. Brett.  By this point it’s obvious that Bad Religion requires both Greg and Brett to be on board.

The New America is a subtle adjustment for the band.  They take a half step back towards their true sound, but seem to be too fickle to stick to it.  Some songs have the classic fun and energy that you expect from Bad Religion, while other songs feel odd and out of place. Songs like I Love My Computer may have a good message, but feel more gimmicky than a song with a real meaning.

While it is a improvement from the train wreck of No Substance, the album continues to feel like they’re simply mailing it in.  They sound only half committed at this point, and if it weren’t for a major shake up I could see them calling it quits at this point.

Grade: C-

Best Song: It’s a Long Way to the Promise Land

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Worst Song: I Love My Computer

The Process of Belief (2002)

Just when you feel the band had hit their low point, they ditch their major record company, return to Epitaph Records, and rejoin with Mr. Brett.  The welcome addition of Brett is immediately heard.  His ability to supplement Greg’s songs with catchy hooks and fantastic lyrics of his own is bar none what makes Bad Religion remarkable.

Not so much a return to form, more of a return from a three album vacation, The Process of Belief gives fans what they expect from Bad Religion, a fast and catchy punk album.  As you listen to the album, the smile on your face will acknowledge that the magic is back.

Grade: B

Best Song: Sorrow

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Worst Song: Evangeline

The Empire Strikes First (2004)

With a theme of 1984, The Empire Strikes First is a throat stab to punk rock.  Now with triple guitarists, Bad Religion take no prisoners.  This album is angry, it’s hard hitting, and it’s full of energy.  It’s Bad Religion back to being Bad Religion.

Everything on this album is perfect. The mix sounds right, no one sounds more important than others, the vocals don’t overshadow the music, the backing vocals offer the perfect melody punches, and the bass expands beyond root notes.  It’s a fun and exciting album to listen to.

Grade: A

Best Song: Sinister Rouge

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Worst Song: To Another Abyss

New Maps of Hell (2007)

Celebrating 25 years together, New Maps of Hell demonstrates to other punks bands how things should be done.  Melody, lyrics, and meter meld together into 16 songs of punk energy.

At times I feel the mastering was done in such a way to show other punk bands that simple bass lines have a time and place, but sometimes complex walks are called for.  This is shown on tracks like Before You Die.

Also demonstrated on New Maps of Hell is the perfect give and take between Greg and Brett.  They simply belong together.

Grade: B+

Best Song: Before You Die

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Worst Song: Heroes and Martyrs

Grade Summary

The Empire Strikes First (2004): A
Stranger than Fiction (1994) A
Against the Grain (1990) A

New Maps of Hell (2007): B+
How Could Hell Be Any Worse? (1982) B+
The Process of Belief (2002): B
Suffer (1988) B

Generator (1992) C+
No Control (1989) C
The New America (2000) C-
The Gray Race (1996) C-

Recipe for Hate (1993) D
No Substance (1998) D-

Into the Unknown (1983) F