Release Date: Jul 9, 2007
Label: Sony
Genres: Punk
Number Of Tracks: 16
Their fourteenth album is both a nod to the band's defiant past and an undeniable step forward in the evolution of a genre they helped to define.
New Maps Of HellFeatured review by: UG Team, on july 11, 2007 7 of 19 people found this review helpful
Sound: With the chaotic crescendo of the introductory track, 52 seconds bodes well beginning with speedy guitars, a deep, hypnotic and almost subliminal vocal line and typically pounding drums. It sounds like Bad Religion has rediscovered the intensity of their early days. Heroes and Martyrs begins with a riff not dissimilar to Latch Key Kids from the 80-85 album and it is a song including gritty guitars, redolent of their early days, incorporating fabulous vocal harmonies. The introductory lead of Germs of Perfection keeps the album on it's roll, and the combination of melody and gritty guitars makes for an interesting sound. However, as of track four, the listener can’t help but feel reminded by sorrow, since the opening chord sounds familiar, in sound and in context. The song tries to redeem itself, but the “ohs and ahs” by this point have become somewhat predictable of the band that sounds the same on every record. Although the sound is full, one wonders what the band would sound like live, since the production truly is crystal clear and captures the band’s energy excellently.
Furthermore, the guitars are layered and the same depth cannot be achieved live. The solos are bland and indistinguishable from many bad religion solos. The band may sound energetic and enthusiastic but we’ve heard it all before. We can pump our fists and chant along, this album is faster than their last release and the energy is captured better. The use of the piano in the introduction of the final track, Fields of Mars is Graffin’s touch, but this release would have been fresher if Graffin had chosen to use it more. Another issue is track 7, Honest Mistake sounds like a typical stadium rock band attempting to sell records, it’s a great song, but it shouldn’t be found on Bad Religion album. It’s slow, poppy and appeals to the average punk’s grandmother more than it does to the punk. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: Complementing the sound perfectly, Graffin’s distinguished voice is a highlight on any Bad Religion album. The stand out track has to be Requiem For Dissent with a chorus that includes the lines, ”Bring the dissidents from slumber, raise the rebel from the grave”, with powerful chants of REQUIEM in between each powerful line iterated by Graffin. This album is full of fist pumping anthems of dissent, but yet again, Bad Religion refuses to push their creativity beyond what they are all capable of as experienced musicians. This is a better album than the Empire Strikes First, due to the fact that the band’s energy has been captured and one can really feel the meaning of Graffin’s lyrics and their authenticity. The thing is, Graffin has also penned lyrics odious of a child trying to rhyme, “Everybody, is a bastard, our world is like plaster”. It may sound intellectual, but believe me, it isn’t. It’s original, but boring nonetheless. The song in question is “Before You Die” which, happens to be a great track with lots of stand out lyrics, but that one brings the song down. Another poor attempt at sounding reflective is “An Honest Mistake”. It is atrocious. From the opening guitar note, any listener can hear the standardised attempt at an indie song. Graffin’s lyrics are poor and the delivery has something very un-Graffin about it. He should stick to penning lyrics that don’t sound this insincere and intentional. // 6
Impression: Initially sceptical of the band’s relevance today, this record did convince me somewhat that Bad Religion still has something to offer, but this was only felt on the faster songs. Again, Bad Religion’s biggest influence is the punk band Bad Religion. So many of the vocal lines are blatantly “borrowed” from previous songs. Stand out tracks are 52 Seconds, Heroes and Martyrs, Requiem for dissent, New Dark Ages, The Grand Delusion and Fields of Mars. Six out of sixteen tracks being fantastic isn’t a bad return after all. The band’s live energy has been captured, but it is still a little has-been. Some of the songs’ rights, such as “An Honest Mistake” should have been sold to indie bands to record, because it really is the perfect example of a bland, mid-tempo song. Perhaps the more suspect material can be attributed to respected producer and record engineer Joe Baresi who has been involved with projects such as TOOL and Queens of the Stone Age. Then again, maybe Graffin and the guys are just going senile after all the years of loud music. Haven’t you always wondered how they can record the same album every time? For a UCLA professor, Graffin does have tendencies to repeat himself in his lyrical topics as well. Religion is bad, we get it; have you much else to say?
However, when Bad Religion maintains speed and intensity, the album is a hit and it warrants a place in any music listener’s collection even if you won't listen to it for a time period over a year, when it is released in early July. Maybe you’ll even like that atrocious indie song. // 7
New Maps Of Hell
Reviewed by:
jdreed08, on july 12, 2007 3 of 3 people found this review helpful
Sound: This album isn't Suffer, it isn't Against the Grain, and it isn't No Control. You can't expect a bunch of forty-year-olds to rock like they were teenagers. With that said, this album fully captures the sound that is Bad Religion. There are the fast songs, such as "Dearly Beloved" and "Heroes and Martyrs", and the slower songs such as "Before You Die". Probably the most surprising sound on the album, however, is the single "Honest Goodbye". I knew from the opening note that this song was going to be something different, and it isn't your usual Bad Religion song with the grinding power chords and fast pace. Does that mean they made this song to sell records? I can't tell you. Even though it doesn't sound like "I Want To Conquer the World", It is catchy.
One thing that Bad Religion always gets trashed for (and this album's reception shows it) is that the album sounds like every other Bad Religion album. I have to say that there are musical similarities within every Bad Religion song, and that is part of what makes them great. Some bands feel that every new album has to sound different, and there seems to be a push in the musical world for everything to sound new and different. Bad Religion, on the other hand doesn't embrace this philosophy, and I'm glad they don't. I would have bought New Maps of Hell without listening to a single track because I would have known what I would have gotten: punk rock with intelligent lyrics and beautiful harmonies. With that said, this album does have it's differences from previous ones. "Prodigal Son" seems to take it's time rather than just grind through, and the harmonies and melody take center stage. "Fields of Mars" is a standout track in sound, with the use of piano in the intro. When it first started I thought I was getting a rejected track from "Into the Unknown", but it quickly went back to the good old Bad Religion punk rock. I feel it's a welcome change, and I love it. // 9
Lyrics and Singing: Greg Graffin could sing disco and I'd listen to it religiously. He and Brett Gurewitz definitely bring the intellect on this album, as you would expect with anything Bad Religion does. My favorite track on the album, "New Dark Ages" has one of the catchiest choruses I've ever heard: "Welcome to the new dark ages / I hope you're living right / these are the new dark ages / and the world might end tonight", and although the chorus to that song is the highlight, the verses are still amazing. The next track, "Requiem for Dissent" calls upon dissenters to come out of the shadows. Although this song's topic is one that has been done countless times in recent years, it's approach is what makes it unique. "Prodigal Son", one of the best on the album, brings Horatio Alger into th fray in only the second line of the song. This sounds like forced rhyming, but it is regardless fitting to the subject of the song. The seemingly forced rhyming in "Before You Die", however, does detract from the song as the line "Everybody is a bastard / my world is like plaster" sticks out like a sore thumb. // 8
Impression: I love Bad Religion. From the first listen of "American Jesus" to the moment I saw them at Warped Tour through The Empire Strikes First until today, I have always loved them. Bad Religion does not experiment with their sound to try to grab wider audiences, and they rarely do a song with a generic pop/rock theme just to attract attention. Bad Religion is not a band that you absolutely love because of the artistic quality of an album, they're a band that you love because they're always there to provide a consistent voice of dissent and provide an intellectual argument against crimes in society. There aren't a lot of bands out there where every song can be quoted in a Political Science paper.
New Maps of Hell is a great Bad Religion album. Did I flip over it like I did when I heard either of the two most recent Brand New albums? No. New Maps of Hell is something that is good to hear in a musical world as diverse as today. In a world where every band is trying to do something to set them apart, Bad Religion releases an album just like they have done since Back To the Known, no drastic change in sound, no dramatic lyrical storylines, just good old punk rock. It's good to hear an album that does not try to be something it isn't, and instead achieves exactly what it set out to be. You can't hail this album as a new turn in punk rock, because this sound has always been there, there's nothing new about it and that makes it beautiful.
All in all, "New Dark Ages" is as catchy as a virus and "Prodigal Son" really gets you moving. The three songs that were out before the album, "Requiem for Dissent", "Honest Goodbye" and "Heroes and Martyrs" fit well into the context of the album, although "Honest Goodbye" does stand out as it's style is different. This album is definitely going to get a lot of playing time due to it's tremendous songwriting and incredibly catchy songs. Bad Religion's members may be over 40, but that doesn't mean their music is old. // 10
New Maps Of Hell
Reviewed by:
SandyPilgrim, on july 11, 2007 3 of 5 people found this review helpful
Sound: Longevity is a concept that relatively few bands have had the luck to achieve. Twenty-seven years, and fourteen albums later, L.A. based punk rock stalwarts, Bad Religion, have obviously been fortunate in that respect. Although, it was a little tough over the years, the departure of a co-writer is bound to have a massive impact on your band, even if he is replaced with the guitarist from Dag Nasty, they have managed to make an incredible and welcome comeback which has continued through to their latest release New Maps of Hell. Of the albums that I have heard, which, judging by the sheer size of their catalogue isn't much, this has to be quite possibly one of the more musically diverse albums they've released as of late. Starting with the frantic, 58 second long, "52 Seconds" the album takes off with a soaring vitality with brash, caustic, go-for-the-jugular punk. However, there is a brillant pop-sensiblity amid the straight up punk songs, as evidenced by the song, "Before You Die." Although it sounds like it has the potential to be a Green Day outtake, the band pulls it off with a subtle flare that is catchy, and will leave you singing it for hours on end. Additionally, there is some slight experimental work, appropriate, since it is the follow-up to The Empire Strikes First, as seen through the song, "Fields of Mars," an allegory accented with a piano or even the Weezer soundalike, "Honest Goodbye." The guitars are as interwoven as ever, and really stand out on songs like "Grains of Wrath" and "New Dark Ages," and of course the BR standard three (or, according to Mr. Brett, four) part harmonies are just as tight as ever, creating a sound that helps Bad Religion stand out strongly against their younger cohorts. // 7
Lyrics and Singing: The lyrics are, as per usual, stellar. On this album, Bad Religion a full blown attack on anything and everything that they deem abominable. Topics ranging from alternative energy sources ("Grains of Wrath") to growing religiosity and religion in general("New Dark Ages," "Dearly Beloved," "Scrutiny") to war ("Submission Complete," "Fields of Mars," "Murder") to literature ("Honest Goodbye") to standing up for what you believe is right ("Requiem For Dissent") are covered. For a band that has been notorious for political and social commentary, this would seem like par for the course, but Bad Religion has a trick up their sleeve: an advanced vocabulary, and a wording of phrases and use of metaphor that makes a person think about these subjects more. And it helps to have a singer with a soulful and commanding voice that creates a sense of urgency. Although that voice is not as full as it used to be, in fact on this album, it seems to be fairly strained in some instances, you should probably remember that twenty-seven years touring and performing is bound to take it's toll. // 8
Impression: Although it is no Suffer, and there are few albums that will ever be comparable to that one, it certainly gets the job done. Interestingly, one of the aspects that caught the attention of my ears, was the neat little musical throwbacks to earlier albums, and how they were thrown into the mix of new material. It's like they've learned from their history as a band, and improved upon it. I would definitely buy this album again. // 8
This is a great cd, I just picked it up yesterday, and it easily in my top 3 for Bad Religion cd's, although it isn't the same as the older stuff, it's still really good.
teh songs in question on review 1 about the lyrics is totally wrong...it is very unGraffin as it is GUERWITZ song....overall a reasonable review nonetheless...got the album on release and nothing but impressed
This is a great cd, I just picked it up yesterday, and it easily in my top 3 for Bad Religion cd's, although it isn't the same as the older stuff, it's still really good.
For a UCLA professor, Graffin does have tendencies to repeat himself in his lyrical topics as well. Religion is bad, we get it; have you much else to say?
Wow!
Who ever did the featured review is so far off base, that i wonder if they even listened to this album (or any BR albums for that matter).
Greg Graffin doesn't say that any specific religion is bad, just that you shouldn't have faith in an organization that you don't know personally.
If the writers of the review have such literary concepts at their grasp (such as the supposed Honest Mistake allusion), they would understand that.
The thing is, Graffin has also penned lyrics odious of a child trying to rhyme, Everybody, is a bastard, our world is like plaster. It may sound intellectual, but believe me, it isnt. Its original, but boring nonetheless
That's an example of the incorrect use of the word "odious." Also, this doesn't make a lot of sense, if it's bad, it's not also good. Poor writing throughout both reviews; i really wish that UG would spell check or get better writers for ALL of their articles.
The thing is, Graffin has also penned lyrics odious of a child trying to rhyme, Everybody, is a bastard, our world is like plaster. It may sound intellectual, but believe me, it isnt. Its original, but boring nonethelessThat's an example of the incorrect use of the word "odious." Also, this doesn't make a lot of sense, if it's bad, it's not also good. Poor writing throughout both reviews; i really wish that UG would spell check or get better writers for ALL of their articles.
Nor is it original... Exodus... fabulous Disaster
And for ever after
you can hear the laughter worlds being plastered by an evil bastard
exterminating faster
devastating plaster
Fabulous Disaster
Indeed it's Honest Goodbye and not just a stadium rock song!
I got the album saturday and it is pretty good but in my opinion it can't measure by The Empire Strikes First by miles!
When I first heard TESF (and still) nearly everyone song gave me this 'WOW this rocks!' feeling. I have this a lot when the intro song goes over into the chanting of Sinister Rouge, Athiest Peace, All there is, Los Angeles is Burning and more songs.
I feel like the powerful exploding energy TESF had, this album is missing. Nevertheless, a quite different and good album but for them too exceed TESF, they have to do way better than this. The only songs on TNMOH that really have that catchy thing and/or the exploding energy (which the entire album of TESF has) are Honest Goodbye, Scrutiny (refrain reminds me of Epiphany)The Grand Delusion and Reqiuem for Dissent.
This album is good and the music is nice but in my opinion Bad Religion can do way better as they have proven by many songs (and TESF, can't say it enough )
The thing is, Graffin has also penned lyrics odious of a child trying to rhyme, Everybody, is a bastard, our world is like plaster. It may sound intellectual, but believe me, it isnt. Its original, but boring nonetheless
That's an example of the incorrect use of the word "odious." Also, this doesn't make a lot of sense, if it's bad, it's not also good. Poor writing throughout both reviews; i really wish that UG would spell check or get better writers for ALL of their articles.
The UG review is written well, however, it unfortunately contains inaccuracies. There were no spelling errors in the UG review as far as I can se at a glance and you didn't capitalise your 'i', so who are you to talk? You could have applied for a psot as a UG writer, but obviously, you either enjoyed rejection, or didn't bother in the first place. This UG review was obviously written by one of their new and inexperienced writers. Within 2 months, I highly doubt any punk or hardocre reviews will contain such mistakes. By the way, odious is fine in that context. It's called variation. Other words like 'reminiscent' and 'redolent' are over used, and odious refers to the negative, so it fits in.
The thing is, Graffin has also penned lyrics odious of a child trying to rhyme, Everybody, is a bastard, our world is like plaster. It may sound intellectual, but believe me, it isnt. Its original, but boring nonethelessThat's an example of the incorrect use of the word "odious." Also, this doesn't make a lot of sense, if it's bad, it's not also good. Poor writing throughout both reviews; i really wish that UG would spell check or get better writers for ALL of their articles.
I thought the review was good. I will check it out!
Written well? Are you ****ing kidding me? It sounded like the guy was taking a dump while coming up with a lot that bullshit. Without the few portion of users who are intelligent and contribute shit, UG would be down the tubes, forever forgotten, especially with this poor journalism going on.
Regardless of the lyrics, this is still a pretty good album. The guitars (this is still a guitar website, right?) are amazingly well defined for having three of them!
wow...who wrote that UG review ...if so kick them off the team. this album is amazing and deffinatly didnt let me down, im astonished at the way brooks drums it gets better and better as it goes until you have the amazing fills at the end of Submission complete it ddeffintaly deserves a higher score though.
in no way is that a synonym of reminiscent. it was used in the wrong context.
although i do agree with some points. this record does get very repetitive. if they would have shaved it down to about 12 songs it would have been better, and the faster songs are mostly the good ones.
but, they have three guitarists. how could they not achieve that layered sound live? it sounds like the reviewer didn't know what he was talking about.
maybe this will grow on me, but so far i greatly prefer Empire Strikes First.
And did anyone fail to realize the release date error and the label error isnt it technically the 10th it was released (since everything is released on tuesdays) and the label is clearly epitaph.
This shows what Ive suspected all along: UG has lazy, sloppy reviews. Please, fire this guy and hire someone else. I would even volunteer; despite my own flame on/off switch, I could easily write 5x more professionally than that (i already do on a certain band site). Then again, I wouldn't want to volunteer at a place that bans for something even remotley anti-Avril LoLs.
This shows what Ive suspected all along: UG has lazy, sloppy reviews. Please, fire this guy and hire someone else. I would even volunteer; despite my own flame on/off switch, I could easily write 5x more professionally than that (i already do on a certain band site). Then again, I wouldn't want to volunteer at a place that bans for something even remotley anti-Avril LoLs.
I pity the site that you do reviews for if your efforts are like the one you posted on UG.
Everyone read this travesty of a review. You received a 1/7 helpful rating and, what's more, your level of English is basic. The supposed critique in question is not witty, objective or remotely 'pro'. Good day.
Oh wow, I am very threatened by your penis. I just said I was capable of flaming, like everyone else is, but also capable of intelligent thought, such as the logic of listening to an album before reviewing, where as the UG review honestly sounds like it was a modified version of some other review, either that, or the person who submitted just didn't give a ****.
I bet your proud of yourself for being so punk; you even brought out a link to a flame I posted on the Avril review, which, despite it's inflammatory tone and obvious bias, was probably ACCEPTED due to the fact that a lot of other reviews were sucking Avril's (most likely existent) cock about her equally sucking music; in other words, I shared a different opinion. Please don't look down on yourself for not realizing any of that sooner, I'm sure somebody else will link to your New York Dolls review and point out how laughablly worser it is than the latest Spice Girls review.
LoL! You received a 2of 2 rating for people finding your review a useful example for situations to stab your eyes out due to the lack of an indented paragraph and most likley some other esoteric misspellings which hardly anyone would give two shits about. The supposed critque in question is in fact very witty, objective and so "fresh" and "dope" and "stupid fly" that you'll probably be taking it up in the ass over at Rolling Stone any day now. Good day.
The UG team offers up a poor uninformed review of a great record. It appears that the writer obsessed with meeting a deadline instead of actually listening to the music, or doing any research for that matter.
The writer also suggests that the record suffers from elements that will not be able to be reproduced live. Are you serious? A live band doesn't sound exactly like it does in the studio? Thanks for the scoop! I had no idea. What a fantastic observation!
One thing that reviews of BRs work fail to recognize is that there are very few bands that provide a solid frame of reference for which to judge BR. The mere fact that they are able to produce solid relevant punk rock music, while evolving their sound at the same time is nothing short of remarkable. Consider how many bands have been the next big thing and have fizzled. The Distillers? Blink 182? The Offspring?
There have been duds and mistakes along the way for BR (New America, No Substance, Into The Unknown) but this is the third record in a row that proves this band has not stepped back at all, but in fact have taken a huge leap forward.
To suggest that all of Bad Religion's music centered around "Religion is bad" is to miss the point entirely of their intent. After reading your review though, as well as some of you past work, it's not an entirely shocking oversight on your part at all.
Apparently sarcasm and a sense of humor are dead concepts @ UG. Perhaps I should learn Latin and put on blackface, and dance for Mr. Ss311 Masta Boss Sir.
Oh no masta sir, I won't spell not correctly next time, oh no lord, I swear I won't.
Did it ever occur to you I purposely put 'worser' there? Or perhaps I should've used a STOP sign, or some bold italics , maybe your brain would've registered some of those higher concepts of humor that seem to elude you.
Btw, UniveersalCynic has it right on the dot, although the other reviews sounded like genuine writing & reviewing, so I doubt anyone will have a huge problem with them.
I want to apologize for flooding the comments with an argument (not the argument itself) when I could've posted a review up today , but it turns out the import edition I'm getting is delayed until Tuesday :\. Sooner or later I'll put my money where my mouth is ;D.
msot reviews on big websites are generally biased towards the mainstream and fairdoos but hey calm teh arguing and just aprreciate quality music (another fault with the U-G reviws is theat Gallows and Against ME! new releases were rated higher- gallows are average IMO and New Wave is terrible)
In support of Jau_Peacecraft i too am a member of the site he contributes to greatly and he does present a very fair argument with mostly perfect grammar (not that i look out for mistakes)
Did it ever occur to you I purposely put 'worser' there? Or perhaps I should've used a STOP sign, or some bold italics , maybe your brain would've registered some of those higher concepts of humor that seem to elude you.
UniversalCynic wrote:
Consider how many bands have been the next big thing and have fizzled. The Distillers? Blink 182? The Offspring?
Not to nitpick, but you know The Offspring are still around, and still quite popular, right? They've got another album due out soon, I heard.
Yeah. Perhaps they are not the best example? I just hope that when they are still recording years from now reviewers don't bust their balls for evolving musically.
As an addendum to my previous post. The two other reviews by the UG team are far superior to the 1st one. they were honest and informed. I meant to type that, but was still smarting and the remedial nature of the first one.
When I first listened to this album I wasn't too impressed, but a couple more listens through, the album grew on me very quickly. This album is very strong throughout, it just takes getting accustomed to the songs, at least for me.
P.S. Why do the three albums that Bad Religion released without Gurewitz never really get any publicity, like they never play any of those songs live and those albums are kind of looked down upon. Even though Mr. Brett wasn't present in any of them, they still are good albums!
"Graffins lyrics are poor and the delivery has something very un-Graffin about it. He should stick to penning lyrics that dont sound this insincere and intentional."
Wow what a retard...how could anybody say that about Greg's lyrics. "insincere"? The first review is crap! He gave lyrics a 6/10...i think bad religion should always get a 10 for lyrics compared to most bands.
P.S. in prodigal son...did anyone notice that that one part around 24 where it goes oh oh oh leading up to the harmony it sounds like that one song...oh oh oh its magic!
When I first listened to this album I wasn't too impressed, but a couple more listens through, the album grew on me very quickly. This album is very strong throughout, it just takes getting accustomed to the songs, at least for me.
P.S. Why do the three albums that Bad Religion released without Gurewitz never really get any publicity, like they never play any of those songs live and those albums are kind of looked down upon. Even though Mr. Brett wasn't present in any of them, they still are good albums!
answer to your question brett isn't always with them live if you've seen them, he's always busy with epitaph, i saw them on the dropkick murphy's and comeback kid tour and he wasnt there.
When I first listened to this album I wasn't too impressed, but a couple more listens through, the album grew on me very quickly. This album is very strong throughout, it just takes getting accustomed to the songs, at least for me.
P.S. Why do the three albums that Bad Religion released without Gurewitz never really get any publicity, like they never play any of those songs live and those albums are kind of looked down upon. Even though Mr. Brett wasn't present in any of them, they still are good albums!
answer to your question brett isn't always with them live if you've seen them, he's always busy with epitaph, i saw them on the dropkick murphy's and comeback kid tour and he wasnt there.
P.S. in prodigal son...did anyone notice that that one part around 24 where it goes oh oh oh leading up to the harmony it sounds like that one song...oh oh oh its magic!
yeah! i noticed that too!
speaking of odd parts in BR songs, i'm surprised no one has mentioned the 5/4 section in Submission Complete. You can always count on them to throw something unexpected into an album.
actually seventy, only 2 of those albums are really outcasted; The Gray Race is the "safe choice" by many fans to choose from the non-Brett period at Atlantic the band had. Although, thats not to say The Gray Race is not a good album; it's a great concept album with a unique sound, but i find it hypocritical for some fans to outcast No Substance, when save for 2 or 3 tracks, is a pretty good album. The New America though I found to have legitmate problems: too positive lyrics (not really the usual with BR), more personalized graffin lyrics (not really a bad thing, but again, not usual BR), problems with the producer (Todd Rundgren was apparently an *******, I remember Jay i think at some point in an interview remarking that), and they left off some good tracks that ended up as b-sides (the fast & the pretenders) that might've helped the album.
Also, I just listened to this album, and I have to say, it is excellent. A much more balanced album than TESF, with much stronger lyrics. The only dissapointment was Fields Of Mars; it sounded simply too formulaic and the little use of piano was just a tease :p. I kinda wished they had the omitted song New Chapter as the last song, as this album sounds as if Bad Religion is moving on to a new chapter in the evolution of their sound. I'll save the rest for my review I'll type up later .
I held off listening to this album for a while because I keep hearing how new BR isn't as good. That might be true but I finally listened to this album and I was pleasantly surprised. I like this album a lot, it blew away my expectations (or lack thereof...)