 
Bad Religion are set to release their sixteenth
studio album ‘True North’ on the 22nd
January and if the rumours are true it could well
be their last album release and if it is they
are going out in good style as ‘True North’
is yet another solid album for the band.
When it comes to Bad Religion albums you pretty
much know what you are going to get before you
even press play and this is exactly the case with
‘True North’ as the album features
the same classic sound the band have stuck to
throughout the years and it also flows in the
same way as any other Bad Religion album with
16 tracks running for 2 or 3 minutes.
The album opens with the title track ‘True
North’ which is a song about a kid who is
running away because they feel that they don’t
fit in anywhere and want to find their purpose,
and moments like this show that despite the fact
that Bad Religion are getting older they will
never forget where they came from and never forget
how they felt when they were kids and growing
up, musically the song is very much like any classic
Bad Religion material in the way that it is a
straight forward punk song with Greg Graffin still
having the knack of getting you hooked into his
unique vocals within seconds.
‘Fuck You’ is a massive highlight
on the album as it is full of punk attitude and
features Greg Graffin shouting out “let’s
say fuck you woaaah” in such an fast and
meaningful way and the guitar solo at the 1minute
40seconds mark is a much welcome peace of instrumental
work.
As soon as ‘Fuck You’ finishes Bad
Religion blast into some outstanding instrumental
work as ‘Dharma And The Bomb’ opens
up, as the song progresses it becomes quite catchy
yet slightly repetitive at the same time leaving
you thinking something was missing. Whilst I am
on the topic of bad moment on the album ‘Hello
Cruel World’ feels extremely out of place,
the song happens to be the longest running track
on the album clocking in at 3minutes and 50seconds
but it is just so slow paced and the slowness
does not suit the band at all and it is oddly
placed in-between fast songs.
Songs like ‘Vanity’, ‘In Their
Hearts Is Right’, Nothing To Dismay’
and ‘Changing Tide’ are all solid
sounding songs which help make ‘True North’
a well balanced album as it features 7 or 8 killer
songs which are easily going to be fan favourites,
a few average sounding songs and a couple of songs
that are truly filler and shouldn’t of been
included on the album in the first place.
Overall ‘True North’ is Bad Religion
sticking to what they do best; it may not be their
strongest album but it is another positive offering.
4/5
Review by Trigger
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