Bad Religion

They started it all. In the 1970s punk first discovered who it was. In the 1980s punk tried to purify itself by distilling the rage into hardcore. But Bad Religion and its members introduced punk back into the mainstream in the 1990s by interweaving punk with other musical influences and creating something new. Before Bad Religion, punk was dead. Now it’s re-animated, and walking the Earth again in search of brains. Epitaph Records, perhaps the most famous and successful punk record label of the 1990s, was started by Bad Religion founding member Brett Gurewitz.

Musically their sound is incredibly important and influential. They formed in 1980, and the first decade of their existence was a decade before the one they’re most associated with. Throughout the eighties Bad Religion was obviously both talented and skilled, but lacking direction. They even released a dismal flop of a record, “Into the Unknown”, in which they vociferously aped the sounds of prog-rock. Even hardcore fans hated it. But in 1988 Bad Religion found the sound and style that struck the perfect balance. The world stopped, let their jaws drop, and gaped at the release of “Suffer”, the band’s debut as the Bad Religion we know them as today.

The band has regularly worked with a high number of musicians in their group, with the current roster listing an impressive six names – most of them still founding members. With such a high volume of talent and input, the band’s sound is accordingly diverse and adaptable. Punk rock is infamously simple, a perception Bad Religion regularly shatters with ground-breaking music that bypasses genres.