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Bad Religion (EP)

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Bad Religion
EP by
Bad Religion
ReleasedFebruary 1981
RecordedOctober 1980
StudioStudio 9 in Los Angeles
GenreHardcore punk[1]
Length9:41
LabelEpitaph (EPI 001)
ProducerBad Religion, Big Dick
Bad Religion chronology
Bad Religion
(1981) 		How Could Hell Be Any Worse?
(1982)

Bad Religion (also referred to as The Bad Religion EP) is the first official recording by the Los Angeles punk rock band Bad Religion. It was released in February 1981[2] by guitarist Brett Gurewitz's record label Epitaph Records, with the catalog number EPI 001.

Recording

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The recording sessions for the EP took place in October 1980 at a demo studio called Studio 9,[2] located above an office and drugstore in Los Angeles on Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue.[3] The EP was mastered by Stan Ross at Gold Star Studios in Hollywood. At the time of the EP's release, vocalist Greg Graffin and bassist Jay Bentley were both 16 years old, while Gurewitz and drummer Jay Ziskrout were both 18. The EP was financed by a loan from Gurewitz's father, Richard Gurewitz, who is listed as co-producer under the moniker 'Big Dick'.[4][5]

The song "Drastic Actions" is influenced by the Germs' track "Shut Down (Annihilation Man)".[6]

Reissues

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The Bad Religion EP has been reissued a number of times, mostly on vinyl. It was initially released on 7-inch vinyl, and reissued in 1984 as a 12-inch with a different sound mix. In West Germany, a 7" bootleg limited edition of the EP was released in 1989, packaged with then-current album No Control.[2] The EP was also pressed on compact cassettes, but those editions are rare. While the Bad Religion EP has never been released as a standalone CD, it was included on the 1991 compilation album 80–85, and on the 2004 CD reissue of the group's 1982 debut studio album How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, which featured the same track listing as 80–85. The EP was reissued on April 18, 2009 in conjunction with Record Store Day, in a limited edition of 1,000.

Reception

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At the time of the original release, the Bad Religion EP received positive reviews from various fanzines. Brenda Jamrus of the punk rock magazine Ripper called the EP "a real powerful six song EP from Bad Religion". She added that "when so many bands are moving away from political overtones, these four guys are keeping politics alive" and described the songs as "fast and solid".[7]

Dave Stimson reviewed the EP for the 16th issue of Touch and Go. In it, he said, "Unlike many LA based bands where all it takes is one listen and you're already dripping slobber on the floor, Bad Religion takes some time before winning over their legion of fans, which must be many cuz [sic] this is a great record. When you first hear it, you say same old LA-styled punk, good, but nothing to get excited about. Now that's where you're wrong. This is perhaps the best debut record since Nervous Breakdown. I can't quite put my finger on it...something like Black Flag meets Neg Trend".[1]

Track listing

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Side 1
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Religion"Brett Gurewitz1:49
2."Politics"Greg Graffin1:21
3."Sensory Overload"Gurewitz1:31
Side 2
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
4."Slaves"Graffin1:20
5."Drastic Actions"Gurewitz2:36
6."World War III"Graffin0:54
Total length:9:41

Personnel

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Bad Religion

Technical

References

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  1. ^ a b Vee, Tesco; Stimson, Dave (23 Sep 2010). Touch and Go: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine '79-'83. Bazillion Points. p. 348. ISBN 978-0979616389.
  2. ^ a b c "History of the Bad Religion EP".
  3. ^ Brett's commentary on recording the Bad Religion 7" (listen to it here Archived 2011-09-27 at the Wayback Machine)
  4. ^ "Bad Religion's New Song Revels In America's Upbeat Paranoia". Kerrang!. March 26, 2019. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  5. ^ Mullen, Brendan (February 27, 2002). "Darwin, Dogma and Loud Guitars". LA Weekly. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  6. ^ Kies, Chris (February 4, 2013). "Interview: Brett Gurewitz of Bad Religion". Premier Guitar. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved May 31, 2024. Even our fastest, most punk-rock albums have always had a slower, longer song—like 'Drastic Actions' off our first EP, Bad Religion. We were influenced by the Germs' song called 'Shut Down (Annihilation Man),' which is super, super slow. But other than that, all their songs were hyper-fast. We always looked up to them, so we took a page out of their book and have been doing it ever since.
  7. ^ Jamrus, Brenda (December 1981). "Bad Religion review". Ripper. Archived from the original on June 30, 2016.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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