After 30 years of recording, touring and inspiring almost every other punk rock band on the planet, the granddaddies of melodic punk return with their fifteenth album ‘The Dissent of Man’. Although the LA-based group have suffered a number of line-up changes over the years, this is now their fourth consecutive album as a six-piece with original guitarist and songwriter Brett Gurewitz.
One of the great things about Bad Religion compared with other punk rock groups is that, while others have either stuck with a straightforward punk sound or completely redefined themselves with a new and “intelligent” direction, BR have consistently chosen to stay true to themselves. This may be the case with ‘The Dissent of Man’, but that isn’t to accuse them of continually recycling the same old style. Far from it. What they manage to achieve is to subtly but effectively mature and develop their music while hanging onto their identity as the Bad Religion that fans know and love. From the first listen, it is clear to see how they have succeeded in doing this again on ‘The Dissent of Man’.
The album gets off to a flying start with the typically short-but-sweet BR punk style on ‘The Day That The Earth Stalled’ – an 87-second moshpit-inciting track, complete with Brooks Wackerman’s breakneck drumming and Bad Religion’s trademark “oozin’ aahs” backing vocals. This is followed by the guitar solo-infused punk rock of ‘Only Rain’, which reminds us of how BR were one of the first bands to step out from the amateurish world of punk to embrace the more skilled and showy arena of heavy rock.
Elsewhere on ‘The Dissent of Man’, Bad Religion take the pace of the songs down to more of a steady rock tempo, which occasionally sees them dip into a number of different genres. As on some of their other recent releases, such as 2002’s ‘The Process of Belief’ and 2004’s ‘The Empire Strikes First’, the band display an even greater use of melody than they did during their earlier years. At times, they could almost be described as bordering on a pop-influenced style, yet manage to steer clear of anything that could be accused of sounding cheesy. Frontman Greg Graffin utilises his powerfully tuneful vocal chords here more than ever, continuing the tradition of proving himself as one of the true actual singers in punk rock.
There’s a definite sign of Bad Religion maturing on this album. In fact, if it wasn’t for the frequent demonstration of their usual hardcore punk origins, you might be forgiven for mistaking this for a straight rock album in places. Without trying to make this sound like too much of a criticism, some pieces are almost country music-like in their appearance. For example, check out the track ‘Cyanide’ with its addition of a slide guitar. Maybe this is the influence of some of Graffin’s solo work – who knows?
There’s certainly no denying that ‘The Dissent of Man’ is going to earn Bad Religion yet more appreciation from outside of their usual crowd in the alternative rock community. The broadening and enhancement of their sound begs for acceptance beyond their more familiar circles. However, songs such as ‘The Resist Stance’ and ‘Wrong Way Kids’ prove that this is a band who, as yet, are far from being tamed and have no intention of ditching their true style anytime soon.
Stereoboard Rating: 8/10
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One of the great things about Bad Religion compared with other punk rock groups is that, while others have either stuck with a straightforward punk sound or completely redefined themselves with a new and “intelligent” direction, BR have consistently chosen to stay true to themselves. This may be the case with ‘The Dissent of Man’, but that isn’t to accuse them of continually recycling the same old style. Far from it. What they manage to achieve is to subtly but effectively mature and develop their music while hanging onto their identity as the Bad Religion that fans know and love. From the first listen, it is clear to see how they have succeeded in doing this again on ‘The Dissent of Man’. 
