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Bad Religion




General Commentary:


MAY '09 Update OMG OMG OMGI don't really have much of a update here. I still love this band, I tried doing a more analytical and sometimes literal look at albums here and bands. I'm kinda upset because I did more of these, but my archived version is missing some of the other ones I wrote. I'm glad I didn't lose any videogame stuff, but I did lose a fair amount of music write ups and linkage. Anyways yeah Bad Religion is a incredible band and has a strong presence on the internet still and on youtube.

This is a band that I definitely should have gotten into much sooner. I basically got into them early 2002 when I heard the song 'Sorrow' on the radio. I then realized that they were a band I should have already been listening to, so I quickly made up for that mistake by purchasing the "All Ages" compilation (a mix of songs from their older albums) the next day. I probably would have bought a few albums instead, but I had just lost my job so I wasn't exceedingly wealthy anymore. I basically loved all of the songs the first time I played the compilation and then shortly after purchased "The Process of Belief" album which was a really good album. A little while later after downloading 'American Jesus' I decided I would purchase "Recipe for Hate" which was a great album overall even if a lot of the songs on their own didn't stand out a lot, they fit the flow of the album very well. It was awhile until I made my next purchase due to crippling low funds, but I kept myself sane by downloading songs from winmx. I also borrowed "No Substance" from a friend. I didn't like it too much at first, but it grew on me. It just took longer since I didn't have the lyrics booklet in front of me to study (yes you'll see that I basically study those things like I should be studying school text books). I then got a new job and bought "Generator" which is my favorite album to date. I recently purchased "Stranger than Fiction" and that brings us up basically to this day where I definitely need to get more albums by them.

Featured Albums:


Generator (1992)


  1. Generator
  2. Too Much to Ask
  3. No Direction
  4. Tomorrow
  5. Two Babies in the Dark
  6. Heaven is Falling
  7. Atomic Garden
  8. The Answer
  9. Fertile Crescent
  10. Chimaera
  11. Only Entertainment


I picked Generator up in the fall of 2002 and this is one of the darkest albums they released. There is a lot of creepy and eerie imagery inside the booklet, even the page with pictures of the band members has that feeling. This album is also my favorite album by them so far and a lot of things make this such a great album. The lyrics are some of their best and there is also more attention towards melody (than previous albums) and the guitar work is excellent. One of the neatest things I noticed when I looked into the lyrics booklet (which I study before playing the album, while the album is playing and after the album plays) is that right before the lyrics for a particular song are listed, there is a quote taken from another source that relates to the upcoming song. Bad Religion obviously put a lot of thought into this album. It runs just over thirty minutes and is full of great songs.

Song Highlights:


Generator: The album kicks off immediately with the album titled 'Generator.' It's a fast and furious song that never slows down. The song also refers to everything around us as the generator. What this generator exactly is often causes some discussion. I see the generator as some sort of spirtual force or higher being that controls everything, but that's just my view.

Too Much to Ask: This song is one of my most favorite songs I've heard on any album. I also quote lines from it very often. It starts off with a pretty slow beat and then the song just goes. This song is about how basically not much can be taken for granted anymore and the fact that America's upper class prospers even if it's at the expense of everyone else.

Tomorrow: This is a pretty simple song, but it has a good melody and is very enjoyable. I see the song as dealing with the subject of greed in a way. Basically it's just about making sure that above all America is profiting still tommorow and not much else matters. It's sad to think people think that way and it's often true. Money being more important than someone's health seems to often be the case to me.

Two Babies in the Dark: This is a pretty different song musically from all the other ones on this album. So it stands out quite a bit. It creates a lot of good imagery as well. The two babies in the dark are the mother and her child she is carrying. The father is away and can't come home because he may be involved in a war or maybe he has a job that requires him to travel. Thus meaning he has to stay far away from home at times. This is definitely a very meaningful song that definitely still relates to today. The song ends with the father asking to be saved from all of this.

Atomic Garden: From the surface this song seems to be about nuclear proliferation, but I think the song goes deeper than just that. It's about a guy who sees that there is actually beauty in this world, but it is being ruined. I feel a lot like the person in the song. I think the world can be a beautiful place, but it's really messed up too. This guy has created his own garden where he can try and appreciate this beauty, but no one else wants to as they'd rather just play around with the earth's resources, atmosphere and such. This song has a really cool ending too.

The Answer: This song was already a big favorite of mine from the All Ages compilation. It has basically everything I could want in a song. A great beat, great guitar and really insightful lyrics. It discusses the fact that no one knows the absolute answer and that other people have their own answers and thiers should not be over looked either. I think a lot of people could learn something from this song.

Fertile Crescent: This song has my favorite beginning on the whole album. It starts off with a beat that is of moderate speed with great guitar and then it speeds up. This is one of the best written songs on the album and definitely also one of the most meaningful still today as well. In my opinion it's about the fact that our planet is being ruined and that we must all work together to save it because there is nowhere else for our species to go. I don't see it pratical living on Mars and such now. Also weren't we supposed to have flying cars according to those cartoons from the 80's? Technology moves fast, but not that fast.

Only Entertainment: The album ends with this song and tells us that what we see on TV (even the news) is only entertainment. It shouldn't be completely believed as fact or how things are. The TV is too often our window to the outside world and it doesn't subsitute for actually leaving the house and seeing what is going on.


If there is a album by Bad Religion that a fan or anyone should have, I personally would pick this one. All of the songs are great, making this a very worthwhile listen overall. Another thing I liked about this album is how well planned it was. Check this one out today!

Process of Belief (2002)


  1. Supersonic
  2. Prove It
  3. Can't Stop It
  4. Broken
  5. Destined for Nothing
  6. Materialist
  7. Kyoto Now
  8. Sorrow
  9. Epiphany
  10. Evangeline
  11. The Defense
  12. The Lie
  13. You Don't Belong
  14. Bored and Extremely Dangerous


This was actually the first Bad Religion album I purchased since I don't count "All Ages" as a album. I had heard a lot of good things about this album and how it was a return to their old Epitaph sound (as well as a return to the Epitaph label). So I was eager to check this album out since I had like their older stuff so much. The first thing I noticed is that the lyrics booklet is one of the most ingenious things I've seen! It's also pretty annoying at the same time too. See when the book is opened some of the pages fold out into four other pages and with the songs placed in the book in a random order, it was hard using it to follow along with the cd. Nontheless some fun was had anyways, trying to find the song I wanted in the book and all. I'd say this album does have the old Epitaph feel with a lot of energy. This is mainly due to it's high production, but it's not too high where it starts to feel fake.

Song Highlights:


Supersonic: The album kicks off with the roaringly fast 'Supersonic' which in my opinion is about the fact that lives now days are becoming increasingly complex and move at such a frentic pace that people sometimes can't enjoy their lives anymore. At least not like how people used to in a much more simpler civilization years ago. I also feel this way, it's really too bad that now days there really isn't time sometimes for that walk through the park or time to sit outside and watch the sun go down anymore. Now days people are just always on the go or too busy (yes me too sometimes) and don't have time to slow things down and enjoy the simpler things in life.

Can't Stop It: This song runs just over a minute! The song is obviously very fast and never slows down. That's one of the reasons why I like it. I'm not entirely sure what this song is about as the only thing I typically make out during the song is I can't stop it. Sure I have the lyrics booklet, but I haven't found the song in it yet heh I think the song is just about the fact that mankind often does things in the wrong (or just not pratical) way just because they are used to doing it that way and don't feel like making any changes. So I think it's generally about the stubborness of human nature.

Broken: I really like how much different emotion is put into the vocals. This is also one of my most favorite Bad Religion songs. There is so much going on in this song (lyric wise) that's it's hard to have just one interpretation for it. I think the song is basically about a guy who's been down all his life and is a social outcast, even his own father doesn't like him. He then meets a girl that shows some interest him and starts to care about him. This guy though can't believe that anybody could possibly care about him and doesn't know how to act around this girl. He basically refuses to recieve any help from her and doesn't want to be happy, this now makes the girl unhappy. This works for most of the song, but then there are lines that completely throw it off such as: ...he only wanted a friend, now he's made something else. It's so sad no one saw it coming, the paper said he hit the ground running... Maybe they are talking about a different person there, regardless I think this song could be interpreted in several different ways, but that's what it means to me. I love this song. It was a good choice making this the second single as well.

Sorrow: A few songs later is the song 'Sorrow' which is a very catchy song musically and the first single. The lyrics contain a lot of ideas to ponder over and cover a lot of topics. I think it has a little bit to do with religion as well with equality and war. It also discusses how there is so much sorrow in this world and probably will always be. This is another song that can have several different interpretations.

Epiphany:A epiphany is basically a new manifestation of ideas. It also is a church festival in Christianity. So that kind of tells you what the basis of this song is. Musically it starts off with a cool bass line and then the guitar comes in. This song is probably one of the slowest paced on the album, but it gets pretty intense at some parts. This and the 'Answer' share some common ideas as well.

Evangeline: Evangelism is the winning of or revivial of personal commitments to Christ (yes I use a dictionary on my site *gasp*). So that's what this song deals with. Oh and despite the band name they aren't always just saying religion or Christianity is bad. A lot of people (mainly closed minded Catholics) seem to misunderstand that. In the song it even says...never go for treason... They simply are questioning how some people can be so certain about some of these things. Anyways this is a pretty fast song and runs just over two minutes. This is certainly a excellent song.

The Defense:This song has a lot of layers to it and is very fierce sounding as well as having a lot of anger. Basically the song is about the fact that the world is really messed up (as well all know) but this guy isn't going to give into it so he must construct his own defense and let the struggle continue. As I said there is a lot going on in this song and I just started to study this one more, so I probably don't have a very good write up. It think it has a few ideas in common with 'Atomic Garden' as well and well it's a great song at surface value anyways.

The Lie: This is a pretty straight forward song, but with all of the thought put into the other songs, it's a really nice break. The song is just basically about how some people lie to themselves, thinking that there is this way everything is going to work out. Obviously things don't always work out as planned, but this person continues to believe things are going to work out the exact way it was planned in the end.


The first time I played the album I liked it, but never actually thought about the lyrics too much. So I at first thought it was merely a good album. When I started to read a lot more about it online, I then realized that it really isn't as straight forward as their previous albums. There really are many different ways these songs can be interpreted and that's always a good thing because that can create a lot of discussion. My only problem with this album is that I think it ends kinda weak. I think a stronger song should have ended the album, but otherwise this is a excellent album. It shows that Bad Religion, more than ten years later, can still put out a album that can compete with any of their past efforts.

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