Bad Religion emerging
from the valley of shadows
by Christine LeonardBeatRoute Magazine, no. 70, October 2010
Having added terms such as “rectilinear,” “Diogenes” and “entropy” to the punk rock lexicon, the band that wrote the book on anti-establishmentarian hardcore has come to a personal crossroads. With some fourteen studio albums ensconced in the hallowed halls of music history, So-Cal rock legends Bad Religion must face their own music and address the burning question they posed to the world so many years ago: quality or quantity?
“It’s always a good thing to venture into new territory. We like to hit the reset button once and while,” affirms founding member and bassist Jay Bentley. “We’re always looking to the next project because we view every album as a plateau: making this record took us into the unknown and that was a huge learning experience. Whenever we put our heads together over a record, things inevitably come down to the question, 'How do you define power?' There’s always going to be another punk band out there who’s louder and faster and is bound and determined to try and prove it. We’re more concerned with sharing ideas. That conveyance can be achieved in many ways and in the end, those interactions are the longest standing. Even things that seem diametrically opposed to one another can be quite powerful."
Fuelled by a lethal combination of “caffeine and naivety,” Bad Religion set off album number fifteen with a bang. Bassist Jay Bentley, along with bandmates singer-songwriter Greg Graffin, guitarist Brian Baker, guitarist Greg Hetson and drummer Bruce Wackerman, celebrated guitarist Brett Gurewitz’s 48th birthday in true punk rock fashion by heading into long-time friend and collaborator Joe Barresi’s studio to lay down some tracks. The ultimate result of their labour of lush, The Dissent of Man, resonates with three decades worth of political unrest and social turmoil with a peppering of midlife pith thrown in for good measure.
“The days of the late nineties were about the deepest valley we ever entered as a band,” Bentley admits. “There were moments when we thought quitting might be justifiable, but going through that experience of being humiliated made us appreciate all the things that we’ve been given in life. That was the point where we knew that we either had to dedicate ourselves completely to the craft or just stop doing it all together. In times of doubt, it’s often best to move along from your comfort zone. If you settle in, you’ll never know what’s out there waiting for you to find it.”
A fitting follow-up to The Empire Strikes First (2004) and New Maps of Hell (2007), both also produced by Barresi, The Dissent of Man is an album that can stand on its own merit despite being dubbed a thirtieth-anniversary release by some punk rock pundits. As far as the band is concerned, this new effort is a fresh attempt at getting closer to the truth behind the fleeting human interactions that motivate them to create their indelible audio art. From the bleak urban unrest of “The Day That the Earth Stalled” to the cathartic mockery of “The Devil in Stitches,” it is abundantly evident that Bad Religion has spent the past three years thumbing the scales in their own favour without short-changing the little guy.
“I believe that we’ve struck that awkward balance between ego and taking pride in our work,” postulates Bentley. “Truly, we are humbled that anyone even pays attention to what we have to say. Finally, we’ve just settled into this area of gratitude and as we move into the future our focus is placed on pure enjoyment.”
