Bad Religion
photo: responsible? · public domain ↗Formed in the San Fernando Valley in 1980 and co-fronted by Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz, Bad Religion helped invent the faster, more melodic strain of West Coast hardcore — driving tempos under gang-vocal three-part harmonies — that shaped the sound of 1990s pop-punk, in part through Epitaph, the label Gurewitz founded to release it.
Graffin has said Gurewitz "was a really big fan of The Ramones" when the two were coming up in the LA hardcore scene, a foundational reference point for Bad Religion's own hook-driven, fast songwriting.
listen forThe Ramones' bare-bones, hook-first "Blitzkrieg Bop" and Bad Religion's own "We're Only Gonna Die" both prove a simple, driving three-chord structure can carry a real pop melody at hardcore speed.
Bad Religion's major influences stemmed from late-1970s British punk including the Sex Pistols, whose confrontational political stance set the template for the band's own famously pointed lyrics.
listen forThe Sex Pistols' sneering "Anarchy in the U.K." and Bad Religion's own "American Jesus" both turn a blunt political target into a shout-along chorus.
Graffin has said he "loved all the LA bands like The Gears and Black Flag and the Circle Jerks" coming up in the early-1980s hardcore scene Bad Religion emerged from.
listen forBlack Flag's raw, aggressive "Nervous Breakdown" and Bad Religion's own driving "21st Century (Digital Boy)" both channel hardcore's speed and aggression into a song built for a mosh pit.