Cosmic Harmony
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Bad Religion is a punk rock group founded in 1980 in Sounthern California by Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitars), Jay Bentley (bass) and Jay Ziskrout (drums) and are often credited as the flagship of punk rock revival in the 80's and are heavy considered to be one of the most influential punk rock groups since the initial wave of punk rock in the late 70's.
Since being founded Bad Religion has changed it's lineup nearly every other album, with only Greg Graffin being a consistent member throughout the band's 30 year career, however the current lineup consists of three of the four original members.
Bad Religion's primary influences are The Adolescents, The Germs, early Social Distortion, and The Ramones though they incorporate many elements that their influences did not. The most distinctive features of the band are their use of metaphors, extensive vocabulary, use of imagery and symbolism, and perhaps their most identifiable feature being their vocal harmonies, which are commonly referred to as the "oozin aahs".
Unlike other highly influential punk bands Bad Religion (perhaps in true punk rock fashion) have not had major mainstream success, but have had overwhelmingly positive critical views plastered throughout their career. Their 1988 album "Suffer" has been called both the most important punk album of the 80's and one of the most influential punk rock albums of all time. It's follow up "No Control" had a faster tempo and is often ranked right along side "Suffer", though is usually given the slight edge as their finest work.
Over the course of their career Bad Religion's influence has emanated from numerous punk bands of the late 80's and on, with several of them going on to become the highest selling punk rock acts of all time. Such groups consist of The Offspring, Green Day, NOFX, Pennywise, Simple Plan, Anti-Flag, Rancid, Against Me!, Rise Against, Sum 41, and many others.
