Finally, it's official. A very exciting note from Greg that's been sent to all Epitaph Mailing List subscribers:
"Although Bad Religion has had some great success over the last three album cycles, none reigns more triumphant than that of our current accomplishment. Having Brett rejoin the band, and being back home at Epitaph are personally more significant to me than almost anything we have ever achieved as a band. There is something tremendous about this state of affairs. On a personal level, the sense of rejuvenation in my songwriting cannot be overstated. I have felt a bit like the last three albums were missing a cylinder at times. In isolation, I sometimes lose sight of who I am writing for. But when Brett is a part of the songwriting, I don't really care who else is going to hear the song, I focus on presenting it to him, and we have a healthy competitiveness that has always worked in favor of the BR fans, we simply try to out-do one another with each successive song. BR albums are simply more satisfying to me when our songwriting is combined to produce a whole work. But aside from the professional logistics of our current situation, it is also a time of great warmth and familiarity. Making albums with Brett is what we have done together since we were teenagers, sketching the Epitaph logo on scratchpads in my mom's living room after rehearsal, singing harmonies together in the "Vanagon" on our California punk-club tours, writing songs on napkins in Denny's after shows. Our past was unique and wonderful, our reunion is equally so. It is in this spirit that I am so excited about our next album and the road ahead."
To this thrilling note Matt Heinemeyer (the Epitaph Web Monkey, as he likes to call himself) adds that "We here at Epitaph are extremely excited to say the least. As a life-long fan of this band, I can tell you that the reuniting of Bad Religion and Epitaph (to me) feels fundamentally right. I can also tell you by first hand account that the entire band has an inexplicable aura about them. You will see and hear it for yourselves; they are sincere, loose, and just plain excited to be back together creating the music that has opened both eyes and minds for nearly two decades. That’s it as of now, but come Friday you guys are in for another load of information that you can only get from the Epitaph Weekly Newsletter" (Thanks to Matt Taylor for this info.)