BAD RELIGION

It’s been 30 years since BAD RELIGION burst from a suburban Los Angeles garage to become a world wide institution of rebellion. But thirty years later the world is still a mess and the band’s fiery songs are as relevant and necessary as ever. To celebrate this unique milestone the band truly marks the anniversary with the release of The Dissent of Man, one of their strongest albums to date.

Thematically The Dissent of Man continues BAD RELIGION’s longstanding fight against the forces of superstition and anti intellectualism which have increasingly gripped the modern world. The song “It’s Only Rain” contains the refrain: “Rain fell like judgment across my window pane, it fell like judgment, but it was only rain” which Gurewitz explains as being almost like a humanist hymn. “It’s an inspirational song about a universe not populated by miracles and angels. Human psychology will lead us to see angels and miracles or god’s judgment but really it’s just our natural world. And that’s more than enough, in fact it’s mind-blowing.”

Another new song called “Meeting of the Minds” addresses the evolutionary battle of the Scopes trial and similar contemporary events, all backed by soundtrack of propulsive modernized punk rock. “That song is one of the hardest hitting on the album,” singer/songwriter Greg Graffin explains. “It’s really about the mismatch between policy makers who idealize what society should look like and the way life is experienced by the majority of us. In three versus and under two minutes I tried to summarize the sweep of Western Civilization in such terms.”

But while The Dissent of Man offers much of the fiery rebellion which has marked a career begun in the raucous LA punk scene alongside bands like Black Flag and The Germs, the new album equally showcases the band’s unyielding willingness to expand its musical boundaries. As BAD RELIGION has done throughout their career, The Dissent of Man features an expanded palette of sounds. The varying tempos and styles of songs like “Won’t Somebody,” “Turn Your Back On Me” and “I Won’t Say Anything,” showcase a band continuing to experiment while still sounding distinctly like themselves.

The Dissent of Man is the 15th album from a band which began as leather jacket clad teenage intellectuals railing against the oppression of suburban life. Along the way, founding members Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz and Jay Bentley, were joined by guitarists Greg Hetson from The Circle Jerks, Brian Baker of hardcore pioneers Minor Threat and a supremely talented drummer named Brooks Wackerman. In their 30 years of making music, BAD RELIGION has helped reinvigorate the punk genre, produced beloved international hits and maintained a dedicated worldwide following of young and old who embrace a music which gives voice to, and celebrates, their dissent. Never is this more evident than when BAD RELIGION roars through their incendiary live set. While there are still plenty of longtime fans in attendance, a majority of those pressed against the barricades singing along with every word are young. It’s been that way since the beginning and it’s an undeniable testament to the band’s enduring importance. “When punk was beginning I saw it as a wake up call for complacent adults,” Graffin explains. “And now as an adult myself I see it as this popular form of music with an amazing potential to reach and inspire people, and I’m profoundly glad we’re still able to do that with each successive release.”