Bad Religion – True North

When I first saw the Bad Religion logo I thought it was some kind of death metal band. You know, that crossed out cross, it just screamed Satan to me haha. Can you imagine how surprised I was when I heard a Bad Religion song for the first time? Nowadays (said the 27 year old…) that stuff doesn’t happen anymore though, all music is like a click away.

Anyway, I love Bad Religion. For real. But I (almost) never listen to it. I know that sounds ridiculous. It is. And I really don’t know why. Literally EVERY time I hear a Bad Religion track I think “Damn, I should be listening to this stuff a lot more”. And over the years I’ve heard quite a bit of songs here and there, but I rarely put it on myself. Do you guys have that with some bands as well? Or am I the only one with this pathetic disability? Walking contradiction right here.

So, this new album… Some days ago a package from Epitaph with “True North” arrived at my doorstep. I thought about passing it on to someone else for a second, but then I decided this was the perfect opportunity to break the cycle and put on some Bad Religion for a chance. And I’m not an expert, but they could have put a blank CD-R in there, and it would have been clear this was the new Bad Religion record. The minute the first track comes in, it’s typical Bad Religion. Uptempo punkrock, lots of woohoo’s, a great voice and good lyrics (nice reference to Sham 69 in Robin Hood In Reverse!). Not a bad thing. Not at all.

It’s quite amazing to see this band has been around since 1979 and still manages to release some kickass punk records. Hats off to them. This record sounds more relevant (both music and lyric wise) than lots of other stuff out there at the moment. I could go into detail on each track and tell you most tracks are pretty fast (that’s what you guys want to hear right?), aside from the slow “Hello Cruel World” or the beginning of “Past Is Dead”. But who cares? It’s not like you’re going to decide on buying this record or not based on this review. It’s another Bad Religion album. It’s a good one. Pick it up if you don’t already own it. It might be a bit early, but I think I’ve got my first entry for my 2013 yearlist.

I really should be listening to this stuff a lot more…

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