>>PREVIEW
Bad Religion
Thursday, July 5
Race City Speedway
"There’s a triangle on this record."
Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley isn’t kidding. In true punk rock ethic, his band has once again opted to challenge the norm and deliver an effort that not only forces people to think about the state of the world, but also about their beloved established rules. With the band’s 14th studio album, New Maps of Hell (Epitaph), this means incorporating the chiming ting of a triangle into a tune or two.
"It’s nothing new for us," he continues. "I don’t mean using the triangle, but trying something different — fucking with the status quo. When we were 16-year-old kids back in 1982, with dyed black hair and leather jackets, making How Could Hell be any Worse?, we wanted to do things that weren’t what people would expect. So we’d put piano and acoustic guitar on songs. Why did we do it then or now? I dunno… it just sounds good."
The notion of orchestral instrumentation on a punk rock album might be a point of shock or chagrin for genre purists. However, when one considers that after almost 30 years together, Bad Religion – Bentley, singer Greg Graffin, guitarists Brett Gurewitz, Brian Baker and Greg Hetson, and current drummer Brooks Wackerman – are one of modern punk rock’s cornerstone acts, it becomes almost admirable.
"A lot of what we do lately, including on New Maps of Hell, is for fun," admits Bentley. "This band isn’t about proving anything or being a platform for one person to elevate themselves. It’s about a bunch of guys getting together on Wednesday night to play hockey and enjoy themselves."
Apparently, this relaxed attitude works. After a tumultuous stumble into this decade with sub-par releases such as 2000’s The New America, Bad Religion disbanded, rethinking their strategy. Alleviating the pressure, self-imposed or otherwise, the re-energized band delivered some of their most influential, acclaimed and impressive work to date with 2002’s The Process of Belief and 2004’s The Empire Strikes First. As Bentley notes, the epiphany was quite simple: only work when the mood strikes or, as he puts it, "when it was time for another game."
"We were excited to do this record, and I think it will show," says Bentley, the first to point out the band’s weaker moments. "If you just go through the motions like we have on some of our albums that aren’t so good, you can tell right away. When we remove the pressure of creating and just enjoy, it makes things so much more productive."
Typically revered as a politically driven band, Bentley is quick to point out that while New Maps of Hell does address worldly matters, their platform is of a more social nature.
"We definitely are a political band, there’s no doubt about it. But what people don’t realize is that we’re not always singing about the government. We’re trying to show that the ills of this society we live in are the ills of every society. Everyone around the world wakes up facing the same issues, like how to feed their children or if their politicians are going to take care of them. That gets abstracted by borders and portrayal by the media. That’s when people start to think, ‘Oh, we’re better off than them. They’re the ones with the issues.’
"Bad Religion – in the general context, not just with New Maps of Hell – is just striving to make people think; to realize that they can control their destiny and wherever they are, the next decision they make should be the right one," Bentley says. "You always know in your heart of hearts when something is right or wrong. So, yeah, we’re political… socio-political." |
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