Bad Religion
These punk rock giants stride like a colossus over the modern scene. What is most astonishing is how long they’ve held that lofty position. To me, Bad Religion, Social Distortion, and the Rollins Band, seemed to define the evolution of punk in the US into a commercial form that could not only draw loyal fans but could even get into the best-selling charts. Epitaph is one of the greatest business success stories of all time in the punk scene and hats off to everyone there for running such a business so effectively over the long term.
Don’t forget it was the Bad Religion/Epitath people who launched the Offspring into huge success in the 1990s. That was when ‘alt rock’ was such a major market force.
And here they are, back in Blackpool, giving shout outs to Sham 69 and DOA and proving that small scenes can also be the launch pad for mainstream success.
It is still great to hear their disciplined, tight, powerful punk Rock (with a capital R). They never deviated from their mission, they are consistent and still pack the punk that they did when I first saw them in my glory years of the late 80s/early 90s.
Michael
