Reviews

New Maps of Hell

Bad Religion

Released: Jul 10, 2007
Label: Epitaph
Reviewed by: William Jones
2 comments

Fourteen! Count 'em! Fourteen albums from a little skatepunk band from Southern California that started back in 1980. I think that ties Bad Religion with the legendary Ramones at this point. And sure, there have been plenty of lineup changes, but it was the same way with New York's pop-punkers. And with Gurewitz returning for the last few albums, both key songwriters (the other being Graffin) are still in place after 27 years, and you know what? They're still kicking more ass, writing better songs, and doing it in a more meaningful way than 95% of today's punk acts.

I've always loved melodic punk, but I'll never turn down a good thrashing (musically). On New Maps of Hell, Bad Religion has all the bases covered. The album starts with a block of the old-school, ripping your face off with three consecutive thrash tracks, all clocking in under a minute and a half. At the outset, it seems like a safe, old approach for the band.

Then the harmonies kick in at track four with one of the album's highlights, "New Dark Ages." The album is suddenly more complex and dynamic, and yet no less of a punk assault. The lyrics are the poignant, social and political assailing of "American values," through religious metaphor (and in many cases, now, literal religious issues), that fans of the band have come to expect over the years. The brilliant harmonizing of the background vocals with Greg Graffin's lead helps to reinvent-not a new sound, but-the Bad Religion sound that's already been in place for years, keeping it fresh, and yet still Bad Religion.

"Honest Goodbye"-dare I say it?-would put some boy bands to shame, and yet in the context of the album (and surprisingly live, as well) it works for the band. While there may not be an instant classic like "American Jesus" to be found on the album, there isn't one of the sixteen tracks that isn't solid and doesn't do its job on the album. Amidst a sea of bastardized, meaningless punk, Bad Religion has stayed relevant, new, and exciting all at once.