Bad Religion - Into the Unknown (1983)

I've been told that objective listeners consider Into the Unknown a masterful and pioneering piece of American prog-rock, but I'm not an objective listener. It sucks.

After three years in the LA underground punk scene, BR guitarist Mr. Brett decided to buy singer/songwriter Greg Graffin an electric keyboard. Graffin wrote and produced the entire album in an effort to break out of what he considered an increasingly close minded LA scene. Lyrically not much had changed, but ITU sounds nothing like any of BR's previous work aside from Graffin's distinctive vocals. The BR Page.net has a whole host of BR member retrospective reactions to the album that make for a good read. ITU is often credited with destroying the LA hardcore scene and almost destroying Bad Religion's career.

Slower tempos, acoustic guitars, wood blocks (really guys?) and that goddamn keyboard ooze out of every track. Nothing here even resembles punk-rock or Bad Religion except the complex and intellectual lyrics that fans expect. If it didn't have "Bad Religion" written across the top, Into the Unknown would be considered innovative and pioneering. But because of the time and place of it's release it is forever remembered as a collectors piece and nothing more. BR fans need to check this out, but only as a glimpse into one of the most infamous fuck-ups in punk history.

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Between the Buried and Me - Colors_LIVE (2008)

The audio portion of Between The Buried And Me's upcoming live CD/DVD combo was leaked onto the internet just a few short hours ago. The show was filmed at the Rocketown in Nashville, Tennessee on August 2, 2008 and consisted of two different sets; the first set is Colors in its entirety, while the second includes a number of different songs from the band's previous releases. Unfortunately, the audio CD only covers the first set, so you'll need to actually buy the DVD (or acquire it elsewhere) in order to check out the insanely awesome second setlist. In regards to just the audio CD though, the band performs what is a pretty much a flawless rendition of their epic progressive metal album. I can't really recommend listening to it over the actual studio album however, unless you already love Colors and simply want to hear it performed live. Of course, this package really is all about watching the performance on DVD, so check that out to get the full experience.

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