Bad Religion - Recipe For Hate (Remastered) (1993/2020) [Hi-Res]

From the opening strains of the politico title-track to the countrified pedal steel guitar on "Man With A Mission," from the anti-establishment anthem "American Jesus," to the heart rending ballad "Struck A Nerve," Bad Religion's "Recipe For Hate" is by far their most eclectic album, and one that never ceases to stir up controversy among fans. Graffin, a seething combination of perfect pitch and skeptical emotion, reaffirms his place as one of the best punk rock vocalists on this record. Guest appearances abound, from Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam fame) harmonizing on "American Jesus" and "Watch it Die," to Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano's stunning vocals on "Struck A Nerve," to Claw Hammer's John Wahl and Chris Bagarozzi's searing guitar leads on "Kerosene." As the songwriting team of Graffin/Gurewitz pull back from their more introspective writing that appeared on some of the previous albums, they focus ever more keenly on the events of the day. "Recipe For Hate" is a scathing commentary on the state of the nation, a social criticism addressing alcoholism, abortion and homelessness.

Bad Religion's first record for a major label (Atlantic Records) opens with two guns blazing and doesn't stop firing until both sides of "Recipe for Hate" are played out. Battling it out for more than a decade in L.A.'s punk scene with their own label, the big money finally came calling for this 1993 album. Instead of toning down their act due to mainstream support, Bad Company came out with their most inventive and original album in years. Speaking truth to power as all true punks should, lead singer Greg Graffin and his mates continued turning the punk scene on it's ear. Ultimately, this album rose to #14 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart.

"Punk veterans Bad Religion don't rely on bankrupt laurels, nostalgia, or a facade of long-expired cool. LP after LP, they just set vicious hooks, a blitzkrieg attack, and potent lyrics to soaring singer Greg Graffin's piledriving passion. It's easy to take them for granted, to view Recipe as just another red-hot LP (ho hum) by the last and best band to survive the '80s L.A. punk explosion. And on first listen, it's tarnished by their previous mild malaise: everything sounds alike, and some exit the boat here too quickly. But then the beautiful sonic smack starts to sink in, and the luxurious melodies introduce erudite parables. Their hometown's riots inspired the gut responses of "Recipe for Hate" and "Don't Pray On Me" ("everybody's equal, just don't measure it"), but they think too clearly to grandstand. Rather, from the epic, anti-military sneer of "All Good Soldiers" to the introspective nausea of "Struck a Nerve" and "Looking In" ("our evolution is our demise"), Bad Religion issue more warnings about our unquestioned ways than Rachel Carson or Michael Crichton could shake a stick at. Warning who? Die-hard punks remain their core audience, but with the co-optation of that carcass into mainstream nirvana, this band is ambushing the slackers. Accordingly, they ripened out of the rapid-fire detonations of 1988's Suffer, 1989's No Control, and 1990's Against the Grain into 1992's more methodical Generator. Recipe's saner speeds and better variety should further inveigle any upstanding gormandizer of killer tunes and dive-bomb chord changes. And in any real taste test, Bad Religion is the alternative to alternative. Smug, silly, ironic '70s retro bands feign danger and detachment, but this band's urgency, lyrical contentiousness, and wicked crunch crush that au courant crap flat." (Jack Rabid , AMG)