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Bad Religion - 80-85 (Cover Artwork)

Bad Religion

Bad Religion: 80-8580-85 (1985)
Bad Religion

Reviewer Rating: 5
User Rating:


Contributed by: BrandonSideleauBrandonSideleau
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The early Southern Californian Hardcore scene was put on the map by bands such as The Germs, Circle Jerks, T.S.O.L., and, most notably, Black Flag. But in 1980 a 15 year old intellectual giant and a group of angry young punk rockers decided to form a band, the band we now know to be Bad Religion. .
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The early Southern Californian Hardcore scene was put on the map by bands such as The Germs, Circle Jerks, T.S.O.L., and, most notably, Black Flag. But in 1980 a 15 year old intellectual giant and a group of angry young punk rockers decided to form a band, the band we now know to be Bad Religion.

Well, enough with your "punk rock history lesson". This is obviously a collection of tracks from Bad Religion's first s/t EP, first album "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?", and second EP "Back To The Known". Noticeably missing is their 1983 experimental rock album "Into The Unknown", deemed not fitting to this collection by the band. The first EP and the first full length featured a 16 year old Greg Graffin snarling out angry intellectual lyrics with a backing band as furious as any of the time. With classic tunes like "Fuck Armageddon.....This Is Hell", "We're Only Gonna Die", "Sensory Overload", and "World War III" the band pumps out a then unique blend of Germs-ish hardcore and melody. Melody being an aspect that would eventually magnified greatly of course.

The main difference between Bad Religion and most other bands of the period were Greg Graffin & Mr. Brett's ability to churn out fluid and almost beautiful vocal melodys. Songs like "American Dream" feature harmonic vocal melodys dring the chorus. For the most part, however, the first album is straight up SoCal hardcore at it's finest.

In 1984 the band returned with the EP "Back To The Known", which is more of a post-hardcore, melodic rock album than their early hardcore stuff. Songs like "Along The Way" and "New Leaf" feature a less screamy, more melodic Greg Graffin on vocals and an obviously well practiced Bad Religion backing him.

This is an excellent album to own if you are a Bad Religion fan or a fan of hardcore. If you need an introduction to Bad Religion, then go elsewhere, like "Suffer" or "No Control". But this compilation pays tribute to the Bad Religion that most of us never had the priviledge of seeing. Luckily they still play the songs live quite frequently. A definite classic.

 

 
People who liked this also liked:
Bad Religion - SufferBad Religion - No ControlBad Religion - Stranger Than FictionDescendents - Milo Goes To CollegeBad Religion - Against the GrainBad Religion - GeneratorBad Religion - Recipe For HateBad Religion - New Maps of HellBad Religion - The Empire Strikes FirstNOFX - Punk In Drublic

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.
sean021122 (February 29, 2012)

Absolutely perfect record. Nothing left to say but buy it now.

soulbleed (December 15, 2010)

good collection. however, if 'into the unkown' had been included on here, it would have just been weird. that record is odd.

jimmyjjackamoose (June 10, 2007)

dude, what the hell is wrong with you, the first E.P. fucking sucks

timmytheturtle1039 (December 14, 2005)

how could hell be any worse is good but the 1st ep is the best

Anonymous (November 15, 2005)

BR is one of the best punk bands ever. They are some of the best punk rock musicians, and they fuggin rock. They picked up the torch that the germs dropped and continuted playing punk rock and along the way they founded a new style of punk known today as: SoCal Skate Punk

enjoifreedumb (December 12, 2004)

This is the best bad religion cd out. A must have in the perfect punk rock record collection.

Anonymous (June 1, 2004)

Wow, I'm pretty surprised at some of these comments...

Let me start off by saying, most of the criticism's of this album are accurate. It's generic, it's not anywhere near as good as the British (or American for that matter) bands that preceded it, and it inspired countless terrible rip offs over the next 15 years or so.

That said, I think Bad Religion's "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" is fantastic, lots of energy, sloppy guitar riffs that are surprisingly catchy, lots of jangly fast paced drumming and the production, while crap by todays standards, lends itself perfectly to BR's songwriting on this album. Vocals, and some of the words behind them, are the weakest part of this album.

The only reason I'm giving this a 4 is that everything on here besides the first LP is pretty much forgettable. The EP is atrocious. As someone else commented, the artwork is dumb and the liner notes are aggravating to read. All you need is the real deal LP with, in my opinion, cool artwork and no unnecessary filler crap.

Anonymous (March 2, 2004)

Is it true that the quality is very bad:P?

Anonymous (April 17, 2003)

oh... an internet joke... very funny.....

rightcliqificus (April 17, 2003)

hahahah gutterhippo is an idiot. hahahah.. nobody around here detects sarcasm anymore..

gutterhippo (April 16, 2003)

bands that no ones heard of?!?!?! you fucking retard!

Anonymous (April 16, 2003)

why do people keep reviewing bands that no one has heard of? I bet this band sucks bad!

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

wow, what a group of bashers. These people are not idiots because their opinion is not the same as yours. The next time you get kicked in the head at a show, and no one says sorry, remember...

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

And so what? Its not like a broken up band has any choice over how they're marketed...

Every con people can think of the Sex Pistols can be used against any other punk band...

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

Dude, whether or not the band was "together" is not what I said. The Sex Pistols were being marketed and promoted as much as today's "boy bands".

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

"Actually, back in 83, the sex pistols were the "black sabbath" of punk, being promoted, marketed, and shoved up the publics ass, by corporate money hounds."

And now Bad Religion are their own corporate money hounds! Yay! Now they sign endless amounts of crappy trend punk onto Epitaph! Ode to joy! And no, Bad Religion suck compared to the Sex Pistols...

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

"Actually, back in 83, the sex pistols were the "black sabbath" of punk, being promoted, marketed, and shoved up the publics ass, by corporate money hounds."

Actually, back in 83, the Sex Pistols had been broken up for quite some time, smart guy.

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

Actually, back in 83, the sex pistols were the "black sabbath" of punk, being promoted, marketed, and shoved up the publics ass, by corporate money hounds. I was a freshman that year. While sex pistols albums were being promoted and sold at every music store, B R music was underground and very dificult to obtain. It also seems hard to compare these two bands because their styles are quite different, not many sex pistols songs have the driving energy and harmonies that are B R's signature style.

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

"While the sex pistols were drugged out losers, BR was creating a true movement that is still around over 20 years later. I can barely believe they are playing Vans Slam City Jam this year! (what has Jonny Rotten been up to beside becoming openly homosexual? and whining Public Image Limited music. have you heard that shit?)"

...You obviously have no knowledge of what you are talking about... While I don't like Rotten on a personal basis (he made fun of the Ramones), at least he has tried something OTHER than punk... B.R. have just been dragging on the same cliche for about twenty years, and it seems like they would be a bit tiresome of it if they weren't in it for the cash... Listen to PiLs' "Second Edition" and deny that as great music... And NOT whiny. And the only "drugged up loser" in the Sex Pistols was Sid Vicious. That's like saying the Clash were all heroin addicts because Topper Headen was. And I don't understand the thing about being "openly homosexual"...

Movements are for true losers... Just conformity and sectarianism... Thank God for Bad Religion, singing about destruction and sorrow, but never leaving anything good to replace it...

Face it:

BAD RELIGION SUCKS.

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

"The only thing that matters is that 80-85 is a collection of classics of the best punk rock band ever, and I'll die if someday another band puts out a better album than this one!!!"

I don't understand peoples' infatuation with this blatantly mediocre band. There are many albums are better than this one. If you listened to old punk, before it was a musical style, you would know. The Sex Pistols beat this bands brains out musically and lyrically, because they had the one thing Bad Religion lacks: energy. These guys just seem to be stupid "punk rockers" who put together a band for the heck of it one day and got big for no reason. I really don't have a problem with that, but saying that they're better than the Clash, the Sex Pistols, or the Damned is idiotic. This band is the Black Sabbath of punk... overrated, and nobody that knows music knows why.

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

This album represents the true core culture of Bad Religion. Back in the early 80's I was a teenager, looking for answers. B R showed me that I should look to myself to find those answers. This music can not compare to others at that time. While the sex pistols were drugged out losers, BR was creating a true movement that is still around over 20 years later. I can barely believe they are playing Vans Slam City Jam this year! (what has Jonny Rotten been up to beside becoming openly homosexual? and whining Public Image Limited music. have you heard that shit? oh yeah, he hosts the FLIP video AS A JOKE!)

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

"who don't give at least 4 1/2 stars to this record must be at least a Sum 41 fan."

Or maybe they aren't mindless "punks". The Sex Pistols were not the first boy band, they wrote their own music and lyrics. The Clash had a manager, too, you know.

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

this is deffinately not the worste album Bad Religion put out. To prove that just look at "No Substance" and "The New America". I'd even say this album is better than A Gray Race.

And yeah, he painted his whole bass blue, including the strings. I don't know if that's what he recorded with.. .but i think so.

-ty

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

who don't give at least 4 1/2 stars to this record must be at least a Sum 41 fan.

Fuck the people who say this album has not a good "production"... The only thing that matters is that 80-85 is a collection of classics of the best punk rock band ever, and I'll die if someday another band puts out a better album than this one!!!

Anonymous (April 15, 2003)

a weaker version of those bands? are you fucking kidding me? the sex pistols were the first boy band: started and formed by their manager who wanted to create a British Ramones. the germs are rad, black flag is rad too, but bad religion is amazing, outside of the ramones and op ivy, probably the most influential punk band ever

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

Black Flag, not the Black Flag.

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

I can easily see how this band would be great to kids who didn't start with the "old school", and I respect them. But I started out with the Pistols, the Germs, and the Black Flag, so why in the hell should I listen to a weaker version of all of those bands?

gutterhippo (April 14, 2003)

i'm saying that I liked the live versions of the songs, which were on "Along the Way". I actually bought 80-85 after getting "Along the Way", and I was disappointed in the album versions of the songs. But I keep my stance that if you want a good introduction to early BR, you should first get Suffer. In fact, 80-85 is the last on the list of BR albums that you should get. Come on, the song "Bad Religion" (every version) sucks!

And about me feeling that I'm more punk than everyone: what did I say that implied that? I'd say that those people who like this album and won't give their newer stuff a chance are the people who are trying to assert their "more punk than you" attitude.

And on an unrelated note, I heard that Jay bought a bass at Sears and painted the strings, making the bass sound awful. Did he record the first album or their demo using this painted bass?

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

Bad religion es muy bien y me gusta. '

garcisas por favor

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

my last comment was for the gutterhippo wanna be more punk than you kid.

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

oh and what does that dumbass mean with "if you want to hear some old stuff get ALONG THE WAY or SUFFER"?
so since hwen do they have an album called ALONG THE WAY?!?! if he means the video, than thank you so much for the tip, if i want to listen to music i dont get a video of live performances, i get an album, some people here are really off their league.

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

great review great album songs collection.

Who let that "Sorrow"-kid-fan post a comment here and call taht album collection shot and gave it only one star. dude just cause you dont like punk rock, and you prefer good charlotte, doesnt mean the people in the audience who want more songs of the old albums are the dumb ones, you are.

this how they started, this is what basic punk rock is, and about bashing into the unknown, well i think its cool, its just a shame taht the band doesnt put so much effort to reissue it for fans, although there have been ideas flying around, cause greg got the master tracks at his home i think...

anyway, a must have for bad religion fans!

actually i know a lot of people who like these old school songs the most.

Anonymous (April 14, 2003)

When people write good reviews they don't get enough credit...it seems that when people post about a review it's to bash it. I would like to say this is a very good review and the album is a fun album to listen to for any bad religion fan.

Sincerely,
suburbanXa
xoxoxoxoxo

Anonymous (April 13, 2003)

Whoa, I just read down a little and gutterhippo is lost!!! I mean read what this fools wrote???!?!?!?!?!?

Anonymous (April 13, 2003)

This is a good way to hear BR. It was the second thing I ever heard from them and it made me love this band more as each track went by.

He's right though, its no as focused as No Control or Suffer or even Against the Grain, but this is still essential.

Anonymous (April 13, 2003)

This album goes head to head with Black Flag's Damaged and track for track is an overall better effort.

TheOneTrueBill (April 12, 2003)

"Had the album had more coverage, it could have made BR into something more akin to REM."

would you really want that to happen?

Anonymous (April 12, 2003)

This is actually my favorite Bad Religion record primarily because of the How Could Hell Be Any Worse stuff. I love the lo-fi sound. Classic.
-Janelle

ommaddon (April 12, 2003)

I have Into the Unknown. It's awesome, albeit in its own way. Had the album had more coverage, it could have made BR into something more akin to REM.

- Jonathan

gutterhippo (April 12, 2003)

here's how I heard the story of Into the Unknown went: Greg got a voice synthesizer for his birthday. In the experimentation with it, they whipped together an album (which I believe jay bentley quit in the middle of recording). They now regret making the album because it tore the band apart and they realize that it was just immature experimentation. That said, I do dig "Billy Gnosis" and "Chasing the Wild Goose", but i can see why most people didn't

punky (April 11, 2003)

Voice of god is government...
I like this better then their latest album, which I think is soooo overrated.

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

Into the Unkown was a good album....some of the songs came off awkward, but none were "bad" and there were some real gems on there. I mean, I love "You Give Up" and "Chasing The Wild Goose". It's a shame that the group is ashamed of it.

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

Hey, I gave it a five because some of BR's signature, classic tunes werr on this record (ie. Fuck Armageddon..., Drastic Actions, We're Only Gonna Die, Along The Way) and the other songs are great as well, if a bit crudely recorded. But so what, for a bunch of teenagers this is a masterpeice. The fact that by the time Greg was 19 he and the band were already making music at a level that most bands never get to. And the first album has it's rough around the edges hardcore charm.....I mean, the lyrics aren't as good as newer BR but they still blow away most of the other punk bands of this period. This album is a classic. Period. New Leaf is another awesome song.

gutterhippo (April 11, 2003)

I have nearly every BR album (except into the unknown and how could hell be any worse) and this is by far the worst CD. What's weird is that when I saw them for the first time, everyone kept yelling "play more 80-85" (even though they did play a lot of shit from this album). I guess those kids were just trying to prove that they were hardcore or something. This album is shit. The only reason why it gets a 2 instead of a 1 is that i like some of the live versions of the songs (on "Along the Way" video). This CD is unbearable. If you want to hear some old BR, get "Along the Way" or "Suffer". This is such a horrible album (and the cover art is pitiful). But I guess it does show that they've come a long way..

evildeadalive (April 11, 2003)

Great album.

moldy (April 11, 2003)

this is a great album and it was one of the first punk albums i ever bought. nice job on the review

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

dont call this album intellectual, cuz its not. Im sure the band would agree

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

How come you didn't mention Yesterday? Another classic! Anyway, for you to know and for me to show off my BadReligioknowledge, both Yesterday and New Leaf had been written well in advance... I have a live recording @ the Whiskey A Go-Go from 1981 (they were opening for the Alley Cats and The Dickies) and they perform New Leaf...

TheOneTrueBill (April 11, 2003)

i have a bootleg Into The Unknown... you're not missing anything

this album however is great.

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

5 stars? i dunno about that!

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

I really love BR and all, but I always found this to be weak. Their song-writing skills REALLY hadn't developed yet. I know lots of people love it, but they hadn't found their sound yet, and as such it just sounds like a weaker version of the great bands of the era (Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Germs ect).

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

"drastic actions" alone is worth the price of this album.

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

Bad Religion is my favorite Punk band of all time. They should re-release "Into the Unknown" and let the fans judge for themselves.

I still haven't seen them live and it's really pissing me off.

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

this review is sweet. damn i can't find this album for cheap and none of my chums got it. i'll keep looking for it more.

Ramo
(retronews.org rocks)

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