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Album Details

• Artist: Bad Religion
• Album: New Maps Of Hell
• Label: Epitaph
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2007-06-29

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This resurrection of Bad Religion is proving to be pretty sweet. Since The Process of Belief the band has shown that it is indeed still relevant. Who would have thought the fate completely lied in the hands of Gurewitz but it appears so. New Maps of Hell marks BR's 14th album, proving that these punks are indeed masters at what they do.

The new album begins with a track appropriately titled "52 Seconds" that rips right into the album with a furious rate. They keep up the intensity with the awesome "Heroes & Martyrs". When you've gotten this far you may notice that there is a bit of a different sound at play here, a little more aggression than what you may be used to. "Germs of Perfection" maintains the momentum but you will start to feel the old Bad Religion harmonies creeping through here. I almost thought Iron Maiden was playing "New Dark Ages" until the vocals kicked in. Great song.

"Honest Goodbye" is a total lackluster song that has nothing going for it. It sounds like modern rock fare. Quite disappointing from a band like Bad Religion. "Grains of Wrath" is one of the best tracks on Maps of Hell. It clips along at a nice pace and even reminds me slightly of Social Distortion. The harmonies wrap you in. Bordering on hardcore is "Murder", fuck is it fast and furious. "Submissions Completion" seems like it is trademark Bad Religion, as are a few other tracks on here.

There is no way you can keep topping yourself but what Bad Religion has shown us on Maps Of Hell is that it is OK to change things up. You have to after 14 albums otherwise you get bored and your fans will begin to fall by the wayside.

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