Category: | Review - Newspaper | Publish date: | 1/1/1996 |
Source: | The Michigan Daily, 1996 | ||
Synopsis: |
Bad Religion
The Gray Race
Atlantic Records
A lot has happened in the past 16 years. The '80s, as cheese-ridden as they were, have come and gone. Wars have passed and leaders and countries have changed. Punk died, and then rose from the dead. Throughout all of this time, Bad Religion, the godfathers (or, rather, grandfathers) of punk, have continued to grow and flourish as a band. Forget about every other "punk" band whom you think is good -- Bad Religion is the best, hands down.
After releasing two albums in the early '80s, "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" and "Into the Unknown," the band went on hiatus for a few years, and came back stronger than ever in 1988 with "Suffer." "Suffer," and the following three albums on Epitaph Records, showcased BR's superior talent for intense, 90-second spurts of raw energy, driving rhythm and lyrics raging against government, religion and any other social norm you can think of.
In 1993, Bad Religion signed with Atlantic Records, and released "Recipe For Hate." This album showed signs of the new directions Bad Religion was headed. The songs were a bit slower, longer and more melodic, without losing their edge. "Recipe For Hate" marked a new high point in which Bad Religion's career, and the follow-up, 1994's "Stranger Than Fiction," became BR's highest-selling album ever, largely based on the success of two of the singles, "21st Century Digital Boy" and "Infected."
Even though their sound has slowed down a little over the years, Bad Religion itself has not. Their ninth studio effort, "The Gray Race," stands as evidence. This album was co-produced by Ric Ocasek, formerly of the Cars. "The Gray Race" is the first Bad Religion album that showcases new guitarist Brian Baker's talent, and it certainly adds an element BR has been missing for a while. Baker, of the early '80s punk band Minor Threat, took over for longtime guitarist Mr. Brett, who left the band to concentrate on running Epitaph Records full-time. Baker even co-wrote four of the songs on the album, but the true lyrical genius of BR is still lead singer Greg Graffin.
"The Gray Race" is a little more urgent than BR's last few albums, which may have something to do with the fact the record was recorded live, together as a band, instead of the normal dub and re-dub procedure common in music today. The CD has a futuristic theme -- it's an analysis of what is going on right now in the world, and where we are headed in the next 15 years.
The opening title track talks of the way we are destroying ourselves in the world that we have created ("Turning true emotion into digital expression / One by one we all fall down / The gray race shrivels trapped inside / The world it creates it's black and white."). The first single, "Punk Rock Song," questions political figures ("Ten million dollars on a losing campaign / Twenty million starving and writhing in pain ... One in five kids below the poverty line / One population running out of time."). "The Streets of America," a slower, more melodic song than BR has ever done, takes a blunt and startling look into the desperate state of people today. "Ten In 2010" -- more than any other song -- sums up this disc's theme of warning and despair. It was based on a radio report that the Earth's projected population in 2010 is 10 billion. We are headed for a world of poverty and disaster : "Truth is not an issue, just hungry mouths to feed ... Forget what you want, scrounge the things that you need."
"The Gray Race" will be a pleasant surprise for any long time Bad Religion fan, and the more melodic feel of the disc will definitely appeal to those who used to say "all Bad Religion songs sound exactly the same." Time has not hindered this band one bit. They might be old, but they still rock.