Gray Race - Bad Religion

The grey race was the ninth full studio album release from the band bad religion. The band had been getting very successful before releasing this album, and their earlier release stranger than fiction was some of their best work to date. This album was the first not recorded with the original guitarist Brett Gurewitz and I think it was a real shame that he left. The album still worked fairly well though and although not being as successful as the album before it, I don't think this was down to the departure of Brett Gurewitz and more down to some of the songs not being as good for other reasons instead. The grey race kicks the album off in the usual bad ...  Read the complete review

'The Gray Race' is the ninth studio album from Bad Religion, it's a fifteen track punk rock album and one that I hold in incredibly high regard. It's not my favourite of the Bad Religion albums; 'No Control' and 'Against the Grain' are my two favourite albums of choice in the Bad Religion back-catalogue, this one does however come a very close third in terms of enjoyment that I gain from listening to this album. I love all fifteen tracks on this album, and with a run time of 38 minutes and 4 seconds 'The Gray Race' provides for an absolutely exceptional overall listening experience. From first track 'The Gray Race' right through to closing classic 'Cease' ...  Read the complete review

The only real dip in the quality of Bad Religion's output coincided with the departure of guitarist Brett Gurewitz prior to 'The Gray Race.' Although his replacement in the form of Minor Threat's Brian Baker was always more than capable of filling his shoes, and indeed chose this band over more high profile offers from R.E.M. and others around the same time, it was left to vocalist Greg Graffin to write all the songs this time round, and the album suffers a little from repetition and average output as a result. The predominant style here continues to be medium speed and fairly accessible as punk goes, still avoiding any claims of being a sell-out but also ...  Read the complete review