Bad Religion Biography

The California-based punk rock band Bad Religion was established in 1979 in los Angeles, by founding members Brett Gurewitz, Jay Ziskrout, Jay Bentley, and Greg Graffin. Bad Religion signed with Epitaph Records in 1981, when the label was brand new, and released a self-titled album shortly thereafter. The debut was followed by How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, but both albums experienced only moderate success at the time.

Bad Religion experienced more success with their fourth album, Back to the Known, which arrived in 1986. The album featured a slightly slower pace than the two prior, launching a more mellow musical period for the band and leading to a few changes in the lineup. But Bad Religion returned to its hardcore punk style with Against the Grain, in 1990, which went on to become their best seller at the time. Still on the rise but having not yet experienced a big breakthrough, Bad Religion returned to the studio to record material for their sixth album, Generator, and then finally their seventh, Recipe for Hate, which gave the group their big mainstream breakthrough.

Recipe for Hate eventually rose into the top twenty on the mainstream charts and spawned the singles “Stranger Than Fiction,” “21^st Century (Digital Boy),” and “Infected.” Since that time, Bad Religion has released the albums: The Gray Race (1996), No Substance (1998), The New America (2000), The Process of Belief (2002), The Empire Strikes First (2004), New Maps of Hell (2007), The Dissent of Man (2010), and True North (2013.) Collectively, the albums have given fans the additional hits: “A Walk,” “Punk Rock Song,” “Sorrow,” “Los Angeles Is Burning,” and “The Devil in Stitches.”

Over the last few decades, Bad Religion has appeared live in performance on some of television’s most notable shows, including: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, Late Show with David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel Live! In the 1990’s, Bad Religion’s music also began to make its way into films, starting with the Kevin Smith classic, Clerks. Music from Bad Religion has also appeared in: The Chase, Glory Daze, Juno, and 8mm, and dozens of video games.

Bad Religion continues to perform and record with the current lineup of: Greg Graffin, Brett Gurewitz, Jay Bentley, Brian Baker, Brooks Wackerman, and Mike Dimkich. The band is rumored to be preparing another studio album release, set for the coming year.