Name: Empire Strikes First
Brand: Bad Religion

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

EPT86694.1

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Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2020-03-20

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

045778669417

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Total Cap

1 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No / black

Artist

Bad Religion

Genre US

Punk / Hardcore

Label US

Epitaph

Bad Religion is a punk/rock band that was formed in 1980 in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA. The band was founded by Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitar), Jay Ziskrout (drums), and Jay Bentley (bass) when they were all teenagers. Throughout their career, Graffin has remained the only consistent member of the band, although Bentley and Gurewitz have participated for significant periods of time. Known for their rapid-fire songs with melodic edges and strong backing harmonies, Bad Religion released their first record, a self-titled EP, in 1981 on Epitaph Records. They went on to release several albums with varying lineups and faced both critical acclaim and backlash along the way.

In 1983, Bad Religion released "Into The Unknown", which had a different sound compared to their previous work due to its keyboard-heavy prog rock influence. This album received considerable backlash from fans and was pulled off record store shelves shortly after its release. Despite these challenges, the band persevered and reformed with new members in subsequent years.

Over the years, Bad Religion experienced lineup changes as well as tensions within the group. However, they continued to release albums and tour consistently since returning to Epitaph Records in 2001. Their music continues to resonate with fans who appreciate their unique blend of punk rock energy with melodic elements

The Empire Strikes First... 14 songs that are fresh, focused, and absolutely alive in the way that great rock 'n' roll energizes everything it touches. It's been a long road from their early-80s beginnings, but these days, the primary concerns of Graffin and Gurewitz are not the band's intricate (and subtle) years-long evolution; they're first and foremost topical songwriters focused on domestic chaos and its global manifestation. Bad Religion is, after all, the outfit that, during the first Gulf War in 1991, shared a Maximum Rock 'n' Roll split seven-inch with radical MIT professor Noam Chomsky, who, like them, is locked into the tense present and dedicated to exposing the forces who lie and disguise to deepen and enforce human misery.

The truth is that after 20+ years, Bad Religion meet the present day not only unfettered by nostalgia, but hardwired into the moment. Fans take the band's growth and standards for granted. It's tempting to say-- though impossible to prove-- that the The Empire Strikes First is a such a terrific album because vocalist Graffin and guitarist Gurewitz, the band's most important creative forces, are responding to the death, desolation, and destruction of war, and to the concurrent attacks on the Bill of Rights; it seems more than just a happy accident that the band has just delivered one of its most charged and inspired records in years.

Empire Strikes First

Music US