Bad Religion has one of the richest histories in punk rock. For those of you who don’t already know, Bad Religion started in the early 1980s with a mission to crank out punk rock with a determined purpose. The mission has always seemed to be to expose harsh realities concerning the environment, politics, and societal problems. With various lineup changes throughout the band’s history, “New Maps of Hell” (Epitaph) was composed with the two original famous members, Brett Gurewitz and Greg Graffin, both men with lengthy resumes and a plethora of respect in the punk-rock community.
Gurewitz started Epitaph Records originally to release Bad Religion’s first records, but time would prove that Epitaph Records would be much larger and influential in the punk community than originally planned, releasing albums by bands such as Rancid, Pennywise, NOFX, and Refused.
Graffin, the man who has been preaching in the microphone since the early 1980’s just recently received his Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Zoology from Cornell University; this should remove all doubt that his lyrics are educated: the man is a genius when it comes to theories on evolution and the environment.
“New Maps of Hell” features many “in your face” punk anthems that are surely displeased with the current administration as well as global awareness concerning such important issues. It’s like any other Bad Religion album; it is not for the faint at heart and will convince you that something is wrong with the status quo and that action needs to be taken.
release date: Tuesday, July 10, 2007
