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 Eh. The most accurate summation I can come up with is "a typical BR album." Not that their formula is bad; I haven't bought all their full-lengths because I hate 'em. It's just that I very rarely am ever surprised by any of their songs. Maybe American Lesion will provide a little variety.What you've got here is, like all their albums, 4-6 real knockouts and a bunch of ho-hums. In this case, "Hear It," "Shades of Truth," "All Fantastic Images," the title track, and "Strange Denial" strike me as the gems off the top of my head. All catchy tunes, which is what I want from my Bad Religion. The rest is just OK, except for "The State of the End of the Millenium Address," which is just plain embarassing. I mean, yeah yeah, America bad, politicians smarmy, fight the power etc; but is this actually pleasant to listen to or somehow enlightening? Uh-uh. Still, the good songs sound as good as any melodic punk/hard rock song out there, and make it a worthy buy. But for the best example of the 'good' half of BR's ouevre of songs, buy "Tested." It's well worth the slightly higher import price.
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No Substance is a hardhitting album which represents definite progress in Bad Religion's sound. The music has slowed down a bit, but the intensity of the lyrics and message has nearly peaked. Songs such as "The Voracious March of Godliness" and "Sowing the Seeds of Utopia" are personal favorites of mine. This album takes on issues ranging from televised religion to the present sprawl of electronic communication and criticizes the hell out of them. However, I feel that the band has gone a bit far in social criticism in songs such as "Mediocre Minds" which stab at the intelligence of the populace. Definitely give this a listen...if you like the samples, pick it up!
Bad Religion have been rousing crowds of hundreds since 1980,in 1983 they released Suffer(the record most longtime fans consider their best)and not since now have they ever reached the status of that record. Bad Religion are once again fast and furious and better than ever. New guitarist Brian Baker (from the legendary Minor Threat)is a very welcome addition to the band.The band has aged but they have never given up their rebelious punk rock attitude(just listen to "The State of the end of the world address"). The tracks on this record are among their most impressive,i.e. the title track, the voracious march of godliness and all fantastic images and it is definitely among their best achievements.
