Bad Religion's "Into The Unknown" Review | The Rock Critic Episode #10 

This is actually their most punk album. What's more punk that out-punking the punk scene with Synth-Rock labeled as punk?

Did you know that All I Want by The Offspring was originally written for Bad Religion? IIRC, all the Epitaph bands were writing Bad Religiony songs as kind of a joke, and Dexter Holland liked All I Want (then with different, more BR style lyrics and called Protocol) so much that he decided to show it to the band. They seemed more apathetic to the song, which got Holland salty so he just rewrote it and recorded it for The Offspring's next album, which also happened to be their first with Columbia Records, and it ended up becoming one of their signature songs.

can you imagine a world where this album was a success? I can easily imagine it becoming one of Patrick Bateman's favorites.

“Space punk”

Stone Temple Pilots remind me of Bad Religion. They both were known well and influenced a bunch if of bands, but they both never got as much credit like their superiors.

If I wasn't a huge punk and prog fan, then I would absolutely despise this record. However I am, so I love it.

it's worth noting, that, per Graffins first book, he stated that he didn't like the violence that was occurring at the shows and wasn't sure that punk, like that, was what he wanted....which is where this album from..Good Review..Thx

I like how much you like Bad Religion.

Wow. I haven't come across many people who are that critical to Godsmack, especially calling out the people cheering at the one note played. I guess, in that regard, you stand alone.

This video is more punk than the album it's reviewing, 10/10

"It's hard for me to think of other Bad Religion songs that have a specific character concept." I have no way to confirm this, but my guess is "Billy Gnosis" eventually got reworked into "Billy," which appeared later on the No Control Album. Lyrics from "Billy": And Billy was a lunatic, just barking at the moon, And his brain was totally wasted. He then exchanged his friends for a needle and a spoon And he threw his future away. Bolt the door and throw away the key. Your dim reflection is all that you can see. So where is the justice when no one is at fault And a human life is tragically wasted? How fragile is the flame that burns within us all To light each passing day?

its actually more like prog influenced AOR bands like Asia, etc, but with a punky vocal style and some heavier riffs.

I listened to the album in its entirety and enjoyed it too much. The guitars are good, the rhythm section is alright, not horrible. And the keys... Sounds like Ninja Brian. I like it. #ITUReRelease

Another full-length Rock Critic episode?! I didn't know it was my birthday! More of Crash's checkered past, I take it?

Just decided to watch this again and got a Scientology ad

I got this album last weeek (Jan 2020) in a shady record store for 10€. I found this thing in BARCELONA, in a giant collection sale! It's probably a copy of the OG, but still, how did it get there?

Id love to see crash do a video on bad or weird albums from otherwise great bands and discographies.

Dude the way you mangled "Amazing Grace" during the explanation of Billy Gnosis was really neat and creepy. Gave me chills!!!

43:00 anyone else notice the book he's reading is Ghost Rider by Neil Peart.

Well... This review's release was rather serendipitous in its timing. I've been steadily dipping my toes into the punk scene for the past year or so, Bad Religion in particular. I'd been exposed to them in my childhood through (go ahead and groan) Guitar Hero, which had "Infected" as one of the available tracks to play. It was one of my favorite tracks in the game because it was one of the simpler ones to play, and it was just a pretty rockin' tune in general. But there was like, a ten year gap where I never listened to anything else from Bad Religion, presumably because I had buried myself up to my gills with thrash metal, grunge and video game music. It wasn't until I started going to college that I branched out, musically speaking. But as I started sinking my teeth into Bad Religion's discography, people kept telling me to avoid this album as if it were the goddamn Necronomicon. Yet when I asked why, they couldn't articulate any coherent reasons why I should give this LP a pass. Even with the Atlantic releases, I would at least get a "There's no Brett" from people, simplistic and petty as that reason is. So I got curious and looked around for it. I ruled out RU-vid because the compression is just ass and I wanted to experience it in as high a quality as I could dig up. But everywhere I looked, nothing. So before I go any further with this comment, thanks, Crash, for giving me and the rest of your audience the opportunity to listen to at least snippets of this album. Anyways... Yeah, holy shit those synths. You could tell Greg (at least, I assume it's Greg) was just sorta futzing around with that thing. I mean, DAMN. Take out the synth and rearrange the tracks to mesh with BR's usual instrumentation, and even the worst cuts on this LP would've been a LOT more solid, I feel. But outside of that and the production quality, I think I agree with your conclusion that this album has some merit to it, even if it's only as an example of what not to do with your second full-length release.

Ah, I coming back to this episode atleast twice a year. I love every The Rock Critic episode, but this one has a special place in my heart, primaly because it introduced me to probably my favourite punk band- Bad Religion and it's still fascinating to hear their "experimental stuff", which I don't think is bad at all.

Into The Unknown isn't "pretty decent" it's an excellent album. Even if in a wabi-sabi way.

Having been a far-away fan of Bad Religion and then, when they returned with "Suffer," being one of the few fanzines that was on the review list for the revamped Epitaph Records (a label that eventually supported loads of zines throughout the 1990s), I remain appreciative on not just those levels but for the music. I wore out the review LPs, I was ecstatic when Epitaph invited me (and two other rags: Ben is Dead and Genetic Disorder) to be part of the three-day Palladium fest in 1994, and to this day I too often listen to the recording from that aforementioned Saturday. All that stated, I still think that "Into The Unknown" is a good album. Being an olde fan of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, etc., I feel it could have been better musically - and yet Brett & Co.'s concept was a solid one even if it was done with uncertainty. To be sure, I still listen to it.

Great review! I was a bit sceptical about the hour in length, but after a minute or so I was locked on to it. I got to see Bad Religion in Toronto, June 2015, the most energy I've witnessed at any concert!Into the unknown is a decent album but I can't really say that it's contents would produce as much energy as the rest of their 200+ song catalogue.

that was fun... thanks!

i like ITU song titles arent bad, it depends who wrote the song. they're bad religion songs with a synthesizer. also, brett takes alot from floyd and the beatles

1.No love for the Ramones? 2.What about the Motorhead song Bad Religion?

This album makes me feel like I’m listening to a Greg Graffin & Brett Gurewitz side project that accidentally got labeled as a Bad Religion album.

40:34 >starts laughing >crash starts laughing

Hey crash say what you want about flipper but they gave us the Melvin's which automatically makes them awesome

Artists tend to take some pretty wild chances when they dont think anyone is paying much attention. Plus, they were probably looking for something that they could latch on to... honestly, if this album had caught on, you can guarantee that they would have stuck with this direction for at least a little while longer. This isn't only time that BR has had people scratching their heads, like (1) releasing an album of Christmas songs (with traditional Christian messages intact despite their entire stance against organized religion) But that was apparently no big deal because those songs supposedly represented good holiday memories rather than to be taken literally, and (2) that whole major label period despite their entire stsnce on, well, everything big business. Seems like there are plenty of bands (especially in SoCal) that start playing punk with the mentality of breaking conventional stereotypes, then doing the most un-punk things imaginable, with the mentality of breaking punk's stereotypes... like being unpunk in a punk band is the most punk thing you can do. Yet most don't seem to see their own irony. Eh... whatever. Anyway, "Fuck Armageddon..." has always been my favorite BR song. While most folks still contend that "Suffer" was THE definitive Bad Religion album, I thought it was way too polished. I would definitely agree that "Suffer" changed SoCal punk forever.

Crash, thanks so much for getting me into this band. This music has really been speaking to me, and it's helped so much in getting me through this shitty year. Suffer, Recipe For Hate, Process of Belief and The Empire Strikes First have been in my constant rotation for months now.

14:38 I laughed so hard at the clip. Then I almost fell out of my seat with the Modern Man reference "one with attitude"

You still got one friend Crash. ME!!!!

This stuff isn't bad, but I can definitely see why it made people run for the hills. Thank god they didn't call it quits after this, though. Great review, Crash. Looking forward to what's next. (Especially my special request ;)

Being a big Bad Religion fan, I would also agree that this is a good album. Maybe because straight up "RAW" punk isn't my main genre. Although I expect crazy upbeat rebellion from Bad Religion, I felt that this album could stand on its own if it was like a side project. Maybe Greg Graffin should be in a side Prog band. XD

I want to hear that old Crash album. Heh!

I hadn't heard of this album before today, and I've been listening to Bad Religion for more than half of my life. Listening to Into the Unknown was certainly a shock to the system, but that's more because of what I've come to expect from the band than for the quality of the work. It's not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but there are certainly far better works in this genre that are more worthy of your time. I'm happy that I listened to it, but I doubt that I'll ever be compelled to revisit it.

11:45 kinda funny cause the guitarist of Flipper was a Vietnam vet

It just me or does the mean riff on the dichotomy kind of sound like that one bridge riff in pig(three different ones) by Pink Floyd.

I love Bad Religion and old prog like Pink Floyd and Rush too but I always thought this album was hilariously bad.

I actually have this on MP3. It's fun to listen to every once in a great while. You hit it right in the nose with this review man. I'd love to see it officially re-released. It's worth it

I kind of have a love/hate thing with ITU.

16:00 - 16:07 changed my life...

Personally i love this album. Is that bad? I love Bad Religion, but this album is underrated in my opinion

the album is PROG and PUNK at the same time - it is sensational :-))

Review all bad religion albums

Dont see what all the hubbub is about...10k shipped and only 11 returned... seems like everyone liked it to me

It’s better than “Lulu.” At least Greg isn’t singing about how he’s a table!!!! 😂😂😂😂😂

i like franz ferdinand

This album introduced me to Bad Religion, however I jumped into Suffer afterwards. I love these guys!!! This album is fucking bizarre though. Their new album is coming!! May 3rd, who’s excited?!

I love this album actually

Chasing The Wild Goose is not about losing priority over things that aren't important over things that are. It's about Mr. Brett's drug addiction.

Dude, this content is great. I also agree with you on almost every point. You're doing God's work, mate.

LOL! Thank you for making this! There were tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. This was just what I needed on a Sunday night.

Surprisingly they started playing "The Dichotomy" at live shows in 2019, and i believe they also played Billy Gnosis at one show that year... :)

Lmao. I have been a bad religion fan for a while and didn't even know this album existed. Well......They sure came back strong with Suffer. That's for sure.

Million Days sounds like a Bon Jovi power ballad

MINUS BRETT is my fave era of the band. "In So Many Ways" & "Don't Sell Me Short" go SO HARD!

You forgot motorhead they also have song named Bad Religion. But awesome review dude.... I like this album

While I didn't get into Bad Religion until my teen years, first time I ever heard them was when I was playing Crazy Taxi as a kid.

Crash, thank you. This video inspired me to check out Bad Religion and now they are my third favorite band (For the record: 2. Descendents and 1. Green Day. )

I think where BR went wrong with their prog album was that it wasn't technical or weird enough. They write great punk though and the album is so wtf that it's a forgivable offense.

Okay it's totally random and out of place But there's a band named Black Bear Rodeo. They're a Chicagoland rock band and I think they're great. I'm not affiliated with them in any way. But I think you might like them Crash. Check em out if you can

I think they really could have grown as a prog band. They should bring that sound back. Maybe it would do better after they've played punk for this long, maybe they could do something really cool.

Dissing on Franz Ferdinand? I feel their first 3 albums are all solid, actually. Their fourth is a little meh, but still.

That was great work, first of your videos I've seen, I'll definitely check out more. I've dug this album since I found it a decade ago.

Great review. I'm a big prog rock fan myself (hell, my username says it all), and I fucking LOVE Bad Religion. My favorite album would probably have to be The Empire Strikes First. In between the awesome rush of Sinister Rouge and the fury of Let Them Eat War lies the glorious, GLORIOUS punk-pop of Los Angeles Is Burning (that chorus!) and my personal fave track, Beyond Electric Dreams. If anything, that song, especially the last two minutes, seems to be an update of the things they were trying on ITU. Hell, from a musical standpoint, it's probably the most interesting song they've ever done--I love the way the song gets more and more intense at the end with the "LET'S GO WHERE THE RAPTOR GOES" bit and Brooks doing his thing. tl;dr I love Bad Religion and The Empire Strikes First.

Crash are you going to do an episode about MCR sometime? Because that would be d-d-d-dope.

This album is like Michael Jordan playing baseball. Not bad for anyone's standard's of normal but, wtf?

Great review! Been listening to bad religion for 25 years, and i didn't hear this album until somebody posted it on youtube! As you say.. i love to hate it! But in a strange way, the opening track has recently somewhat grown on me in a strange way.. It starts off good (as you say) but when the 80's synth kicks in, it all turns into eighties workout music! Still love the fact that they titled their come back EP after this to "back to the known" lol!

I find it kinda funny that 2 of your favorite bands are prog and punk

Oh God, I'm currently watching this video with a headache. Things were going good... And then flipper played

holy shit. I'm appalled and disgusted that you don't have way more subscribers. You're videos are so well done, and you're hilarious. i hope time gives you and your channel the recognition you both deserve.

What wrong with the division bells... I love that album

throughout this whole year I've been noticing albums that are really unpopular released by popular artists that are kind of good I think this album to be in that Spectrum like Michael Jackson's invincible David Bowie's outside

the motorhead song titled bad religion is awesome too

Great video Crash! I don't get the Franz Ferdinand reference :( i think they released two excellent albums (FF and You Could Have..) and then decent stuff.

This band basically got Imagine Dragon'd long before Imagine Dragons were even a thing.

I'm not gonna lie. Chasing the Wild Goose is a damn good song. The instrumentation is weird but it is an otherwise great song. There are definitely a few songs on this album that they could have reworked into proper BR songs. Just listen to the Jawbreaker cover of Chasing the wild goose and you can see the definite roots of brilliance underneath the surface. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WJixnNUJSOU.html

Sadly, trump did become a thing

Oh you like Descendents. Nice. One of my favorites of all time

52:55 love that part

I'm not a Punk fan. The most punkish band I listen to is Superjoint Ritual, but regardless, I really liked this review. On that note, I have two Punk related questions addressed to you, Crash. What do you think of Superjoint and are you planning on making "The Rise and Fall of Green Day"?

hey dude I'm not trying to tell you how to live your life or anything but I really like this camera angle more than the other primarily because your'e not using a green screen and you're actually using your walls and stuff as a background. It just looks a bit off when you're using a green screen because you have no shadow and the lighting is different between you and the background but yea please keep doing this. LOVE YOUR STUFF DUDE ESPECIALLY THE WEEZER REVIEWS PLEASE REVIEW WHITE ALBUM. bye.

I love this album

I first I laughed because I thought it was a weird coincidence. Then I remembered The Wall was ‘80. Then I laughed more.

Random question, but do you like The White Stripes/Jack White?

Crash to Godsmack : ITS ONE NOTE ITS LITERALLY JUST ONE NOTE!! WHY ARE YOU PEOPLE CHEERING.

what is your favorite Bad Reilgion album?

27:56 And from nowhere, we're listening to Revolution #9

I’ve been a BR fan since late 80s that is the best BR album. I love how the albums predict the big brother age. BR gave kids awareness for the future what’s going on & each album gets faster . After the Unknown.

Hey Crash, whats your opinion on the band Modest Mouse? I will take any criticism(not like most trolls or republicans). Also why don't you do an episode on good albums you could find on Bandcamp(We Lost the Sea's Departure Songs is an amazing piece of instrumental post-rock. so many emotions set in each song).

The Franz Ferdinand line made me laugh. I should check up on them sometime.

Lol, nice Neil Peart memoir casually masquerading as scholarly work

Davy Goldman is really - David Goldman, a working actor. You can google it and see what he has been up to.

Into The Unknown is the Grilled Cheese Sandwich of Bad Religion albums. And I like Grilled Cheese.

"If president Trump actually becomes a thing this song [fuck armageddon this is hell] will be our new national anthem" Boy that has aged too well.

The change from Punk to Prog kinda reminds me on the Celtic Frost Cold Lake Album which was Glam Metal rather than Black/Thrash Metal, the bad part was they were good with their only Glam Album xD

After watching this video for the first time, I decided to listen to their debut album. I agree that it is an essential listen as a fan of punk rock myself (my favorites being "Latch Key Kids", "Faith In God" and "In The Night"). At first, I didn't want to listen to them even though at the time, "Fuck Armageddon... This Is Hell" is the first song that I listen to by the band and love the song. But I wasn't too impressed with their s/t EP at the time because I am an adrealine junkie, even though it grew on me ever since I started to listen to "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?". I guess I didn't know where to start. Anyway, I am now looking forward to listening to their entire discography. BTW, my favorite song from them so far is "Sensory Overload".