Bad Religion
Truthfully, most musician-originated labels are little more than vanity projects designed release their owner's music. That's where Bad Religion's guitarist Brett Gurewitz was different. Like so many others, he founded a label to release his group's recordings, but Epitaph Records became a premier Punk indie imprint. Like a lot of indies, it had its share of financial difficulties but not before establishing an incredible track record with music from Offspring, NoFX and, of course, Bad Religion.
As the '80s began, Bad Religion formed in north L.A. with Gurewitz, vocalist Gregg Graffin, bassist Jay Bentley and drummer Jay Ziskrout. Only Graffin was onboard for the whole ride. Debut album "Into The Unknown" was released in '83 but by the mid-80s, both Bentley and Ziskrout were gone. Paul Dedona spelled Bentley, while Pete Finestone took over from Ziskrout. Though Finestone also left and Davy Goldman stepped in, Finestone was not done with Bad Religion. As all this was spinning about, Gurewitz decided to take '84 off to deal with his substance abuse problems.
With Finestone back, along with a couple ex-Circle Jerks (guitarist Greg Hetson and bassist Tim Gallegos), Bad Religion unveiled their "Back To The Known" EP which won praise and fans. Even so, the group decided to take a three-year "break."
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Bad Religion returned in '87 with Gurewitz. The "Suffer," "No Control," "Against The Grain" and "Recipe For Hate" CDs established Bad Religion as one of Punk's leading bands. It also drew the attention of Atlantic Records.
Atlantic re-released "Recipe For Hate" and gave it the full major label promotional push. Bad Religion's full-fledged major label debut came with "Stranger Than Fiction." But once again, Gurewitz bailed. First, Offspring's surprise success meant Gurewitz had to spend more time on label matters. Secondly, and probably more significant, Gurewitz was unhappy with the group's deal with Atlantic.
After three albums that failed to live up to Atlantic's expectations, the group was dropped. No problem, Bad Religion was re-signed by Epitaph with Gurewitz eventually back on guitar (he also helped out on the group's last Atlantic release "New America") for the '02 release "The Process of Belief." Two years later the group unleashed "The Empire Strikes First."
Bad Religion's scalding Punk-influenced Rock reaches its zenith on "Suffer" and "No Control." Their '90s work is generally not up to their earlier standards. Surprisingly, Bad Religion is able to get back on track with "The Process Of Belief" and "The Empire Strikes First." The frantic speed Rock/Punk rush is back and we're all happier for it. On "Empire," the title track, "Social Suicide" and "Beyond Electric Dreams" leave an indelible impression.
A couple compilations are good options. "80-85" covers their early period. "All Ages" takes a longer view (to the mid-90s). Both are excellent. Interestingly, the '00 album "New America," produced by Todd Rundgren and containing "You've Got A Chance" and "It's A Long Way To The Promised Land" is another strong choice.