Bad Religion was one of those bands that I had heard of but never had the opportunity to hear prior to this release. New Maps of Hell marks the fourteenth release by Bad Religion in their 27-year history. Those 27 years have seen the band with a number of member changes– this version of Bad Religion is a superset of the vocalists, guitarists and bass player the band has had over the years. The core of the band is the three original members Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett “Mr. Brett” Gurewitz (guitars), and Jay Bentley (bass). Added to them is Greg Hetson (guitars) from the legendary Circle Jerks and Brian Baker (guitars) from Minor Threat. On drums for the last three albums is session player Brooks Wackerman who does a capable job catapulting the avalanche of guitars on this album. With a pedigree like this you would expect a textbook execution of punk and hardcore.

Except it really isn’t.

New Maps of Hell seems to me to be the refinement of– and possibly the development of– the punk and hardcore sound that the members of this band helped define in the ’80s and ’90’s. With a lot of help from Grammy-nominated producer Joe Barresi who worked on albums from Queens of the Stone Age, Tool and Weezer we have a very polished and consistent record– almost RADIO FRIENDLY. The album’s first single “Honest Goodbye” is being pushed to alternative markets already. That is a good midtempo rocker to bring the appeal to the masses with its anthemic lead vocals from Graffin and sunny almost Queen-like harmonies.

I’ve had the opportunity to listen to this album during my morning commute for a couple of weeks. Initially I was a bit put off by the fact that all of the songs have exactly the same production, but it is a grower and I found myself singing along with the choruses on most of the songs. Some standout tracks are “Honest Goodbye,” “Heroes & Martyrs,” “Dearly Beloved,” the rallying cry of “New Dark Ages,” “Lost Pilgrim.” “Before You Die” sounds like a song Green Day wishes they recorded.

The album’s lyrics, while not specifically political in nature, deliver a message of disappointment and disillusionment with the current state of Western society. It is this frustration that propels the tempo and mood of the album. A consistent snapshot of the Summer of 2007. Forty years after the Summer of Love we are living the same hangover that followed it.

In a recent interview with Mr. Brett by Billboard about New Maps he states that the original plan for the album was for it to be a two record affair with more variety of style and technique– a sort of White Album that would allow them to revisit their older sound. I think that would be a good next move the band. The album wraps up with “Fields of Mars”– a song with pianos in the opening and bridge that seem out-of-place on this album but that possibly hint where they might have gone.

Be sure to catch Bad Religion this summer as part of the Warped Tour which will be playing near you.

Click Here to listen to “Heroes and Martyrs” from New Maps of Hell.

Bad Religion’s MySpace Page with a number of tracks from New Maps

Bad Religion’s Official Web Page

Get New Maps of Hell from Amazon.com

Adam Franklin is the former frontman for shoegazer/psychedelic group Swervedriver that existed from 1991-1999. Swervedriver recorded five albums before breaking up. Their first album Raise was on Creation Records in the UK which was also the home of My Bloody Valentine. Their first single “Son of Mustang Ford” which was a tribute of sorts to T-Rex gained them enough recognition that they were signed to A&M in the US. I saw the video for “Son” on MTV’s 120 Minutes and was moved to buy that album and the companion EP Reel to Real.

The story goes that Creation Records nearly went broke due to the obsessively-recorded Loveless by My Bloody Valentine so the record label was not able to spend any money promoting Swervedriver or their following albums Mezcal Head and Ejector Seat Reservation. Swervedriver was subsequently dropped from A&M after Raise and fell off the U.S. radar until they were picked up by Zero Hour in 1998 and they released their last album 99th Dream.

Since Swervedriver’s breakup in 1999, frontman Adam Franklin has been busying himself recording six releases under the name Toshack Highway.

Adam’s seventh release– and first under his name– is Bolts of Melody and will come out on June 26th on Hi-Speed Soul.

I feel the album picks up nicely where Swervedriver left off. It incorporates the many-layered chorus of guitars swirling around the melodies sustained by Adam’s distinct laid-back vocal styles. There is a more 60’s guitar pop feel with Adam wearing influences from garage bands and psychedelia groups. I’ve been listening to this regularly since I received the promo and it has been a good soundtrack for the Spring that I’m sure will continue through the Summer weeks.

Bolts includes some previously-released tracks from Toshack Highway including the two versions of “Birdsong” and “Theme from LSD” from the Birdsong EP and “Syd’s Eyes” from the single of the same name. I think that the Birdsong tracks fit on the album pretty well, but “Syd’s Eyes” seems to stick out a bit more than I like from a production and song style.

Adam will be touring in support of Bolts of Melody with a barrage of West Coast dates through the middle of July. I hope he’ll extend this run though the Midwest! I think a stop at the Picador may be in order. He is also working on a collaboration with Sam Fogarino from Interpol they are calling The Setting Suns. The Setting Suns album is planned for release this Fall.

Be sure to visit Swervedriver.com as they have a bunch of rare mp3’s from Swervedriver and Toshack Highway worth downloading.

Listen to “Sieze the Day” from Bolts of Melody.

Purchase Bolts of Melody from Amazon.

Adam Franklin Live Dates

07/02 New York, NY Mercury Lounge (Album release show)
07/13 Seattle, WA KEXP (In-studio)
07/14 Seattle, WA The Crocodile Cafe
07/14 Seattle, WA Sonic Boom Records (In-store)
07/15 Portland, OR The Doug Fir
07/15 Portland, OR Jackpot Records (In-store)
07/16 San Francisco, CA Cafe du Nord
07/17 Los Angeles, CA The Echo
07/18 San Diego, CA The Casbah
07/18 M-Theory Music (In-store)