Hi, I am a student from Hertfordshire, guitar player, lover of music, favourite bands at the moment ...
Hi, I am a student from Hertfordshire, guitar player, lover of music, favourite bands at the moment include Oceansize and Yourcodenameis:milo, Tottenham fan, interested in politics, that about sums it up I reckon...
Member since:12.09.2004
Reviews:7
Members who trust:2
Bad Religion – often referred to as the godfathers of modern punk rock and quite rightly so. Having formed some 24 years ago, ‘The Empire Strikes First’ is the umpteenth studio release from Greg and co., and just goes to prove that age is no restriction in this business. ‘TESF’ is another politically-charged raging punk rock beast from the forty-somethings, and in the opinion of some a return to the incredible form of 1993’s ‘Recipe for Hate’ and prior to that album. So here goes:
Track 01 – Overture (1:09) Hmm… really not much to say about this, just that it’s a quiet little instrumental, starting with a huge-sounding echoing drum, lulling you into a trance before hitting you with the guitars and then…
Track 02 – Sinister Rouge (1:53) Power chords, rapid drumbeat, typical Bad Religion style opens up track 2, with choral-style oohs and aahs adding an almost spooky feel to the song. Then in comes Greg Graffin’s distinctive vocal style, beginning to deliver his scathing punk rock attack on the Bush administration and general American stupidity. A short song, but that’s how punk rock should be – 9/10
Track 03 – Social Suicide (1:34) Opens with a nice little bit of
amp feedback, and as is typical of many Bad Religion tracks, the lyrics start almost as soon as the music does. The verses in this track are a little slower, before another rampant chorus brings things back up to speed. The changes of tempo work fabulously on this track, one of my favourites on the album – 10/10
Track 04 – Atheist Peace (1:57) Containing damning lyrics such as “Tell me what we’re fighting for / No progress ever came from war…”, this is another quick burst of energy from Bad Religion, with a brass section evident on this one. Fast paced from start to finish, the track is only really 89 seconds long, however a quiet acoustic-style instrumental outro is tagged onto this one, providing a chance to pause for breath – 9/10
Track 05 – All There Is (2:56) The pace is slowed down to some extent for track 5, the first song to break the two-minute barrier on the album. Gone are the characteristic speedy drums and the 100-mile-an-hour power-chords this time to give the song a more reflective mood, and it introduces some variation to the record – 8/10
Track 06 – Los Angeles Is Burning (3:22) The first single from the album. Great riff that starts the track and runs through the rest of it, this is a little faster than the previous track, and, dare I say it, more radio-friendly than the rest of the album so far. They even ironically manage to name-drop the title of their first album back in the 80s, asking ‘How Could Hell Be Any Worse?’ – 8/10
Track 07 – Let Them Eat War (2:56) Probably the most politically minded track; the fact that it also appears on the ‘Rock Against Bush Vol. 2’ compilation is probably quite telling of this fact. A good, melodic track, this sounds pretty light-hearted, however the lyrical subject matter suggests otherwise, with an angry spoken bridge condemning the CEOs of corporate America… but back to the music, another one of my favourite tracks – 10/10
Track 08 – God’s Love (2:31) Back to the style of the first few tracks now, this song wastes no time in getting to the point, Graffin’s vocals seem to suit this track well and there’s a great guitar part towards the end of the track – 9/10
Track 09 – To Another Abyss (4:06) The longest track on the album and a bit of a slower affair – in fact the song doesn’t speed up at all here, something that is not too frequent on a Bad Religion track. Nice to have a little variation, however this is one of the weaker tracks in my opinion – 6/10
Track 10 – The Quickening (2:18) This song taught me a new word – ‘ephemeral’ (‘short-lived’ if you didn’t know). Who says punk rock isn’t educational? The lead guitar doesn’t actually feature so much on this track, with a somewhat stripped down instrumental part behind the vocals during the verses, however once again I love the riff at the end of the track – 9/10
Track 11 – The Empire Strikes First (3:23) Don’t know why, but this track reminds me of their 1994 album ‘Stranger Than Fiction’ – a credible track and a little more guitar-by-numbers simple chord pattern in the background (does that make any sense???). Backing vocals are used well in the chorus, not a bad track – 8/10
Track 12 – Beyond Electric Dreams (4:01) Now this track is certainly different to other BR songs. Its one of those songs that grows on you with every listen, and has a moodier feel to it, with the old vocals sung through a loudspeaker technique in it giving it a real sense of political purpose. That characteristic Bad Religion rapid drumbeat is missing, the guitar are more hypnotic than frenzied, and it works – 10/10
Track 13 – Boot Stamping On A Human Face Forever (3:48) Again, this is not a style we would usually hear from the band. I have read somewhere else that it is similar to the track ‘Struck A Nerve’ (from Recipe For Hate), and I have to agree – slower and more heartfelt. If you’re a BR fan, it’s like Marmite, you either love it or you hate it – 9/10
Track 14 – Live Again (The Fall Of Man) (3:38) Poses the question “would you give it all up to live again?”, this is a good track to close the album, once again I really like the chorus on this one, which is more to their tried and tested formula, nice instrumental part near the end (sorry I keep saying that) – 9/10
OVERALL – Personally I would rate this as some of the best work Bad Religion have done, with the lyrics still as sharp and intellectually challenging as ever. One criticism Bad Religion often face is that their songs within an album are too similar, but I don’t believe that can be said for this album, with the likes of ‘Beyond Electric Dreams’ and ‘To Another Abyss’. A blinding album, a must for any fan of Bad Religion or punk rock in general.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Overture Sinister Rouge Social Suicide Atheist Peace All There Is Los Angeles Is Burning ... more
Let Them Eat War God's Love To Another Abyss The Quickening The Empire Strikes First Beyond Electric Dreams Boot Stamping On A Human Face Forever Live Again (The F...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
exceptional by (15%):
very helpful by (85%):
![American Idiot (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Green Day - review by davis_golf](http://images.ciao.com/ide/images/stars/2003/stars40.gif)
