I'm a 21st Century Digital Boy (Against The Grain - Bad Religion)

Member Name: rleigh

Product:	Against The Grain - Bad Religion
Date:	25/06/08 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: An excellent 34 minutes of punk rock music; energetic and truly entertaining.

Disadvantages: The music is slower than with the bands previous album; some may prefer the bands faster style.

'Against the Grain' is the fifth studio album from Bad Religion, a seventeen track album which clocks in at 34 minutes and 27 seconds in length. This is I feel one of the best albums that Bad Religion has ever released as a band; the album originally came out in 1990 through Epitaph Records and is one of my personal favourite punk rock albums of all time. When comparing this album to the bands previous release 'No Control' it must be noted that the pace has slowed a little here; 'No Control' is an album that consists of 15 fast and furious punk rock anthems whereas with this album the band became a little more relaxed, showing a lighter side and more mellow approach to music.

In terms of personal favourites from this album I'd have to say that 'Operation Rescue', '21st Century (Digital Boy)', and closing track 'Walk Away' are the ones that appeal to me most from this album; all three of these are absolutely exceptional offerings of punk rock and with these tracks the bands sound comes through strongest I feel. 'God Song' is another excellent track from this album, with this one the band parodies William Blake's short poem 'And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time' to great effect; the music is excellent and once more the band shows off its exquisitely fine talent for making remarkable short length punk rock anthems here.

With the track 'Operation Rescue' the band actually collaborates with former Black Flag/Circle Jerks vocalist Keith Morris; his presence is excellent on this track and he really helps to add energy and depth to the vocal aspect of the music. There's something about 'Operation Rescue' that makes it stand out when you listen to this album, it's probably in no small part down to the vocal inclusion of Keith Morris and every time I listen to this album 'Operation Rescue' is one that I have to repeat several times before moving on to listen to the rest of the album.

I'm a massive fan of this 'Against the Grain' album from Bad Religion, it's an incredible release from the band and this album and 'No Control' do I feel contain the vast majority of the bands finest work. '21st Century (Digital Boy)' is a definite must hear track from this album, if you love your punk rock then you just won't be able to get enough of this one. The more mellow approach that the band took here is definitely one that worked out well for Bad Religion; as much as I love the 'No Control' release where the band shows a faster and more frantic side, I also love this album from the band where the music was made a little less furious. This is definitely an album to own in your collection, this and 'No Control' are absolute must own albums in the Bad Religion back-catalogue and anyone with even the slightest interest in the genre of punk rock should definitely seek to purchase these two releases from Bad Religion.

Summary: 'Against the Grain' is a fine album in the Bad Religion back-catalogue; well worth owning.