Bad Religion is at it again! On January 22nd, 2013, Southern California’s punk-rock bandits dropped their newest album off of Epitaph Records with True North. This marks their 16th album since the band first formed back in 1980 and released their first self-titled EP in 1981.
Originally planned to be out in 2012, this 16-track album was recorded during July and August 2012 at Joe’s House of Compression, a studio owned by Joe Barresi. 
Joe produced the record along with Brett Gurewitz, guitarist of the band.
Throughout the relatively quick 36-minute album, the punk-rock pioneers stayed true to their style by focusing some songs with concern on more recent political issues such as the Occupy movement and the corruption on Wall Street.
Peaking at number 19 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, True North became Bad Religion’s first album to crack the top 20! It also sold over 18,000 copies in the United States during its first week out.
According to an interview Rolling Stone Magazine did with the band, lead vocalist, Greg Gaffin wrote songs in New York, while Brett Gurewitz wrote from Los Angeles. Here is what Brett had to say in the interview with Rolling Stone regarding the writing process they took between opposite coasts of the US:
“Greg and I get together before the writing, either on the phone or in person, and talk about what kind of record to make. He usually defers to me cause I’m still in music, in that world, and he’s really far from it; he’s really an academic now. We talk about it and then we go off and do it. Then usually I send him two or three songs, he sends me two or three songs, and then from there we finish the record and meet in the studio.”
You can pick up Bad Religions new album True North on iTunes by clicking HERE
True North Tracklist:
1. True North
2. Past Is Dead
3. Robin Hood In Reverse
4. Land of Endless Greed
5. F*** You
6. Dharma and the Bomb (ft. Brett Gurewitz on lead vocals)
7. Hello Cruel World
8. Vanity
9. In Their Hearts Is Right
10. Crisis Time
11. Dept. of False Hope
12. Nothing to Dismay
13. Popular Consensus
14. My Head Is Full of Ghosts
15. The Island
16. Changing Tide
Bad Religion: (current line-up)
Greg Gaffin- Lead Vocals
Brett Gurewitz- Guitar/ background vocals
Greg Hetson- Guitar
Brian Baker- Guitar
Jay Bentley- Bass/ background vocals
Brooks Wackerman- Drums
Bad Religion discography:
1. “How Could Hell Be Any Worse?” (1982)
2. “Into The Unknown” (1983)
3. “Suffer” (1988)
4. “No Control” (1989)
5. “Against the Grain” (1990)
6. “Generator” (1992)
7. “ Recipe for Hate” (1993)
8. “Stranger Than Fiction” (1994)
9. “The Gray Race” (1996)
10. “No Substance” (1998)
11. “The New America” (2000)
12. “The Process of Belief” (2002)
13. “The Empire Strikes First” (2004)
14. “New Maps of Hell” (2007)
15. “The Dissent of Man” (2010)
16. “True North” (2013)
Bad Religion Links:
Bad Religion Website
Bad Religion Facebook
Article by: David Garcia
Listen: Bad Religion- “Past Is Dead”