This is one of the reasons I ended up going to college for philosophy. Take that as you will.

If you are looking for an introduction to Bad religion you could do no better. If you are looking for an intro to punk in general, be warned- this will spoil you. It's just too good.

This is the album that got me into punk, the one that showed me what the medium could do, how thoughtful and acerbic it could be. Behold- This one is a band-launcher. Such thematic diversity and rhythmic variety, propulsive and tight, such ferocity...

I don't care much for BR's work post- Stranger Than Fiction (though Process was a nice surprise), but thanks to this and Suffer they can do no wrong in my eyes.

Modern man, Entropy (the only song I bet to ever mention Ludwig Boltzmann), faith Alone, walk Away, Misery and Famine, 21st Century Digital Boy, the sweet-arena rock drums that close out Anesthesia... There are NO Sleeper tracks.

PS I learned more vocab by sitting around reading BR's lyric sheets with a dictionary than I ever did in any English or SAT-prep class. So adventurous home-schoolers take-note!!!! The opening lyrics of 'Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking,' for example...

"Let's gather 'round the carcass of the old deflated beast,
we've seen it through its accolades and rested in its lea
syntactic is our elegance, incisive our disease,
the swaths endogenous of ourselves will be our quandary..."

si jadis me souviens...

PS thank you, Josh Locker, for turning me on to this, all those years ago... If you're out there...

This albums only contains rock'N'rollin songs to make your simple plan crap in his pants!

I am Biased about this album. Many people's favorite songs or recordings are created at pivotal points in their lives. I'm sure anyone hearing this for the first time today will discard it due to dated production sounds. Some people dislike the pop-punk of the late eighties because it wasn't as hardcore as the 70's or early 80's. However, it was like its predecessor in that its goal was to disrupt and inspire. This album did just that for many people. If you like BR then this is the apex of all their material, in my opinion.

If you listen to this album for the first time and don't feel changed, there is something wrong with you. The guitar work, the vocals, the lyrics, it's all great. I wouldn't say it's their best but it definately set a stride for the next few years to come. This is the last album to feature drummer Pete Finestone, he was replaced by Bobby Schayer, and let me tell you, if Bobby had have been on ATG instead of Pete, this album would be up their in my top 5. This album perfectly blends the melodicism and guitar technique that they have been trying to get out for years, along with their SUFFER-esque song structures.

1. Modern Man (10/10)
2. Turn on the Light (10/10)
3. Get Off (10/10)
4. Blenderhead (10/10)
5. Positive Aspect of Negative Thinking (5/10)
6. Anesthesia (10/10)
7. Flat Earth Society (10/10)
8. Faith Alone (10/10)
9. Entropy (10/10)
10. Against the Grain (10/10) my personal favorite BR song
11. Operation Rescue (10/10)

12. God Song (10/10) incredible song, a must listen to track.
13. 21st Century (Digital Boy) (10/10) BR's classic hit, still played live every night
14. Misery and Famine (7/10)
15. Unacceptable (10/10)
16. Quality or Quantity (10/10)
17. Walk Away (10/10)

This completes my BR studio album collection, and it seems I've unintentionally saved the best for last. The usual quota of 4-6 good songs per album seems to have been ditched, because these are all at least good, and several make me salivate heavily.

And, while still a loyal BR fan, I admit that the last two albums have been a disappointment. "The Gray Race" and "No Substance" have their highlights, but they seem to lack a certain energy (not necessarily just reflected in speed) and only feature a fraction of the hooks of earlier albums. The most logical explanation is the loss of the Mr. Brett half of the songwriting team. Between Greg Graffin and himself, they seemed to be able to come up with a solid album per year. Left to his own devices lately, Greg does a competent but unspectacular job.

Check out the following tracks for the tightest harmonies, catchiest hooks and cleverest lyrics BR have to offer -- "Modern Man," "Turn On the Light," "Anesthesia," "Blenderhead," "The Flat Earth Society," "Entropy," "21st Century Digital Boy," and especially the title track. Hummmm, dawggy! Check out who wrote what tracks, and you'll see that Mr. Brett's influence seems indispensible. Yet, he's since been dispensed with.

This is their masterpiece, in my opinion, and the most musically appealing punk record I've ever heard.