Bad Religion is a punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1979. Their current line-up consists of Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitar), Jay Bentley (bass), Greg Hetson (guitar), Brian Baker (guitar) and Brooks Wackerman (drums). Gurewitz is also the founder of the label Epitaph Records, which has released almost all of the band's albums. They are often credited for being involved in the revival of punk rock and inspiring several subsequent punk bands during the late 1980s, as well as influencing a large number of other punk and rock musicians throughout their career. Bad Religion is also particularly known for their use of soaring 3-part vocal harmonies (which they refer to in their album liner notes as the "oozin' aahs"), sophisticated and intellectual lyrics, and political or religious commentary. Their lyrics often relate to matters of social responsibility.
The band's original line-up featured Bentley on bass, Graffin on vocals, Gurewitz on guitar, and Jay Ziskrout on drums. Ziskrout left in 1981, while Bad Religion was in the middle of writing and recording their debut album How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, and was replaced by Pete Finestone. Between the releases of their next two albums Into the Unknown (1983) and Suffer (1988), more lineup changes occurred, leaving Graffin the only remaining original member. After recruiting Greg Hetson as their second guitarist in 1984, Gurewitz, Bentley and Finestone rejoined the band in 1986. The reunited quintet returned to the studio two years later to record Suffer, which is described by critics as one of the most "influential" punk rock albums of all time. Suffer was followed up by two more albums – No Control (1989) and Against the Grain (1990) – before Finestone left Bad Religion once again in 1991 and was replaced by Bobby Schayer. With Schayer in the band, they recorded Generator (1992), Recipe for Hate (1993) and Stranger Than Fiction (1994), the latter two of which were released on the major...
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