Bad Religion How Could Hell Be Any Worse? CD

80-85 contains Bad Religion's first full-length album, HOW COULD HELL BE ANY WORSE?..., their first EP, and additional rare material.
Bad Religion: Greg Graffin (vocals); Mr. Brett, Greg Hetson (guitar); Jay Bentley, Tim Gallegos (bass); Pete Finestone (drums).
Principally recorded in Los Angeles, California between 1980 and 1985. Includes liner notes by Greg Hetson.
Personnel: Greg Graffin (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, background vocals); Brett Gurewitz (guitar, background vocals); Greg Hetson (guitar); Jay B. Ziskrout, Pete Finestone (drums).
Recording information: Pacifica Studios, LA, CA.
Photographers: Gary Leonard; Ed Colver.
Arranger: Bad Religion.
Listening to Bad Religion's 1982 debut , How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, is like cupping your ear against the garage door of their practice space. Greg Graffin's vocal style isn't fully formed here, nor is his lyrical agenda, but the building blocks are significant and affecting, bigger than piles of collapsed cathedrals. Indeed, "Voice of God Is Government" begins with a caustic caricature of the money-grubbing preacher, who assures that donations will be used to "censor TV and radio, ban questionable books, and contribute to many other Godly services." Snotty punk then crumbles into accelerated, anthemic hardcore. The subtle "We're Only Gonna Die" opens the album; the piano and acoustic guitar midsection is a nice foil for the youthful anger in the vocal and its crackling lead guitar riff, a sound and tone that would only become more refined and powerful with consecutive '80s outings. "Fuck Armageddon...This Is Hell" is another highlight, with its tense, urgent opening instrumental section and Graffin's Southern California-centric rail against throat-choking smog. ~ Johnny Loftus
For newer Bad Religion fans curious about their earlier work, the 1991 compilation 80-85 is highly recommended. As expected, the songs are a lot rawer than their later releases, but a lot of the same musical elements that would be perfected in the 1990s by the band (biting social commentary, melodic twists and turns) are present. Some fans consider this era "the real Bad Religion," as evidenced by such tracks as "Yesterday," "New Leaf," "Along the Way," and "Bad Religion."
This 2004 version of Bad Religion's 1982 debut takes the place of 80-85, which had previously accounted for the group's earliest output. Fully remastered (as Epitaph has done for a bulk of early BR releases), the set includes the first LP's full track listing, as well as the first three EPs. The expanded booklet features a full lyric sheet, reprints of the EP cover art, and a great photo collage that's as informative a scene history as any wordy liner retrospective would be. The energy in those photos of sweaty, awkward teenage kids gathering in well-lit rooms to play music and dance is correspondent to the music itself, which puts Bad Religion's initial forays toward hardcore and punk into tense, buzzing relief. Listening to How Could Hell Be Any Worse? is like cupping your ear against the garage door of their practice space. Greg Graffin's vocal style isn't fully formed here, nor is his lyrical agenda, but the building blocks are significant and affecting, bigger than piles of collapsed cathedrals. Indeed, "Voice of God Is Government" begins with a caustic caricature of the money-grubbing preacher, who assures that donations will be used to "censor TV and radio, ban questionable books, and contribute to many other Godly services." Snotty punk then crumbles into accelerated, anthemic hardcore. The subtle "We're Only Gonna Die" opens the album; the piano and acoustic guitar midsection is a nice foil for the youthful anger in the vocal and its crackling lead guitar riff, a sound and tone that would only become more refined and powerful with consecutive '80s outings. "Fuck Armageddon...This Is Hell" is another highlight, with its tense, urgent opening instrumental section and Graffin's Southern CaliforniSpin (7/92, p.78) - "...furious, melodic, in-your-face tunes...The 28-song CD beautifully documents an essential and revolutionary contributor to the L.A. punk scene. You cannot pass this up..."
(Jan./Feb.,1992) - "...The whole thing was remastered from vinyl because the master tapes went up in flames. Nonetheless, it sounds great, and any Bad Religion fan MUST have this--PERIOD!..."