| "Anxiety for love of life, anxiety for pain, anxiety a feeling that you know you can't contain, anxiety destroys us but it drives the common man. Foundation of society is anxiety." |
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WHO ARE THEY?
Bad Religion is a punk rock band formed in 1980 in Los Angeles, California, by a group of high school students. The original lineup consists of Greg Graffin on vocals, Brett Gurewitz on guitar, Jay Bentley on bass, and Jay Ziskrout on drums. These high school students never would’ve anticipated the impact the band would make within the punk rock scene, let alone existing for 4 decades. However, the band remained active despite several lineup changes over the years. Musically, they have stayed consistent with their punk rock sound since the 80s and made great use of their incredible vocabulary. Their long-lasting career has made them a prolific band that continues to influence others through their music. As a band, they have amassed 17 studio albums, 2 live albums, 3 compilations, 3 EPs, and 2 live DVDs, with a total of 278 songs in their entire discography.
WHY DO I LOVE THEM?
They are the reason I got into punk rock music and ventured into the realm of hardcore bands along the way. When I first heard American Jesus, I was struck by their lyricism. At the time I was a washed-up emo kid. The only lyrics I paid attention to were emo, pop punk, post-hardcore, and metalcore songs. So essentially lyrics that reflected how I was feeling. When I did listen to music outside of my preferred genres, the lyrics were unimportant to me. I couldn't care less about what they were singing about. I have always been more of an instrumental person when listening to music as electronic, house, dubstep, and techno was my starting point for my music journey.
Bad Religion was the first that made me pay attention to a band’s message. They were the ones who sparked my interest in researching every band I listen to. Not to mention, it also led me to dig deeper into the world of subgenres within punk rock, and later into other music genres and their subgenres. I find it funny that, because they’re the reason I listen to so many different subgenres of music, some of my friends who play in bands often ask me what kind of music they’re playing. To them, I’m like a walking, talking music encyclopedia, but none of that would have happened without Bad Religion.
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About Bad Religion
