epitaph. 86694 / 14 tracks / 2004

J (CD): sony. / 15 tracks / 2004

Japanese CD version on Sony (!) has one bonus track (“Surface of me”).

Bad Religion’s denial to change anything in their sound approaches Ramones-like proportions. Of course this is an impressive monument to „give the people what they want“, but on the other hand it’s also a bit, um, boring. Well, this basically sounds just like their last 100 albums or so. Still, I can’t bring myself to write a bad review about them, they have nice melodies, they have occasionally smart lyrics and it’s still punk. A rigid, zombiefied kind of punk, but I can still listen to it. [7]

Die Weigerung dieser Band, ihren Sound auch nur um ein Jota zu ändern, hat schon fast Ramones-artige Proportionen. Und warum auch nicht… die Fans wollen das so, und in einer unsicheren Welt kann man sich immerhin noch darauf verlassen, dass auch das hundertste Bad-Religion-Album noch so klingen wird wie alle anderen. Also: Alles wie gehabt, melodischer Punk, mal schneller, mal rockiger.

Tracks: overture / sinister rouge / social suicide / atheist peace / all there is / los angeles is burning / let them eat war / god’s love / to another abyss / the quickening / the empire strikes first / beyond electric dreams / boot stamping on a human face forever / live again (the fall of man)