Bad Religion

Genres: Punk rock
Melodic hardcore
Hardcore punk


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 several subsequent punk bands[1][2][3][4] during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career.[5] In the 30 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 (with a fifteenth due in 2010), 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,[6][7][8] 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 is currently working on a new studio album, which is expected to be released in 2010,[9] 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.


Bad Religion



Kalo ngomongin musik punk saat ini, pasti ngga bisa lepas dari pengaruh band yang satu ini. Bad Religion, salah satu dedengkot musik punk dunia ini memang telah lebih dari 25 tahun bertahan di jalur musik punk dan sekarang namanya telah menjadi legenda.

Terbentuk pertama kali pada tahun 1980 di pedalaman kota Los Angeles, California, Amerika Serikat dengan formasi awal Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitar), Jay Lishrout (drums) dan Jay Bentley (bass), ngga salah kalo kita sebut mereka sebagai "pemain lama" di genre musik punk.

Nama Bad Religion pada awalnya terkenal karena isi dari lirik-lirik mereka yang banyak bermuatan sosial. Selain itu, frontman mereka, Greg Graffin, mempunyai gelar DR. untuk bidang evolusi biologi dan memperoleh gelar master untuk bidang geologi. Rentetan gelar itu sedikit banyak mempengaruhi image Bad Religion sebagai band intelektual dan cerdas.

Album pertama Bad Religion (BR) diproduksi oleh Epitaph Records dan merupakan yang terburuk. Setelah sempat manggung di beberapa gigs lokal, akhirnya terjadi pergantian personil dengan masuknya nama Pete Finestone sebagai penggebuk drum yang baru. Kemudian di tahun 1982, album "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" yang direkam di Hollywood, rilis dan menarik perhatian para pengamat dan penggemar musik Amerika.

Di tahun 1984, pergantian personil semakin gencar hingga nantinya tinggal menyisakan Griffin sebagai satu-satunya personil lama yang "selamat". Greg Hetson dan Tim Gallegos masuk untuk mengambil posisi gitar dan bass, sementara sang gitaris, Brett Gurewitz "sibuk" dengan proses rehab kecanduan narkoba dan minuman beralkohol.

Setelah berbagai masalah yang timbul dari "dalam" selesai, BR mencoba come back dengan mengeluarkan EP "Back To The Known" yang bertujuan untuk memproklamirkan bahwa mereka masih "ada" dan eksis. Akhirnya vakum panjang pun berakhir dan Brett Gurewitz pun kembali ke formasi band dan BR merilis album "Suffer" di tahun 1988. Walaupun musik mereka keras, namun mereka imbangi dengan lirik-lirik pintar dan cerdas.Setelah malang-melintang di industri musik selama bertahun-tahun, BR akhirnya jatuh ke pangkuan major label, Atlantic Records, di tahun 1993. Dibawah naungan Atlantic mereka merilis debut album major lewat "Stranger Than Fiction".

Sampai sekarang, Bad Religion masik produktif dalam membuat album dan sudah mengeluarkan lebih dari 10 album, yang terbaru adalah "New Maps Of Hell" yang rilis tahun 2007 ini. Beberapa album BR antara lain "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" (1982), Suffer (1987), "Recipe for Hate" (1993), "The New America" (2000), "The Process Of Belief" (2002) dan "The Empire Strikes First" (2004). Formasi terakhir dari Bad Religion adalah Greg Graffin (vocal), Jay Bentley (Bass), Greg Hetson (Guitar), Brian Baker (Guitar), Mr. Brett (Guitar) dan Brooks Wackerman (Drums).

download: Bad Religion.rar