Bad Religion - No Substance

Punk ain't dumb. Not with a creative lineage that includes everything from the Clash to Nirvana. Bad Religion has been part of that history since 1980. Whatever they lack in instrumental virtuosity is made up for here in singer Greg Graffin's urgent two-minute manifestos on society and world politics. As on other Bad Religion releases in the '90s, No Substance preaches militant social consciousness to the punk masses, imploring the youth to "raise your voice!" There was more variety in Bad Religion's sound when guitarist Brett Gurewitz was still in the band, but the band has taken their relatively simple musical formula to a sophisticated level here, crafting tight, intelligent nuggets of punk. --Steve Appleford Amazon.com

We are the priveliged elite

The departure of Mr. Brett in 1994 was a blow to Bad Religion without a doubt. Aside from losing his consistently catchy contributions to the records, it also feels sometimes like Greg may have not tried as hard, what with there being no competition for songwriting. That having been said, this actually stands as possibly the strongest of the trilogy of Brett-less records.

The lyricism is strong as on any other Bad Religion record, the musicianship is very good, (Hetson and Baker really working to make up for the loss of Mr. Brett) and the production is slick, but not overly so. Songs like "Voracious March of Godliness," "Raise Your Voice," and "Mediocre Minds" are all songs that could easily find their way onto a Bad Religion mix CD.

All said and done, this record gets a somewhat bad rep, mostly because of the Brett situation. Well worth the purchase. March 4, 2007

Its Not too bad

1.Hear It- I Give it a 7/10 , I think this a fairly good songs its short Fast and fun.
2. Shades of truth - 6/10 Its an OK songs but its pretty long
3. All fantastic images - 8/1- Pretty good song Not to short not too longs. The lyrics are pretty good in this one
4. The Biggest killer in american history - 9/10 One of the best songs on the record(in my opinion) , I wish they released this as a single instead of "raise your voice" i think it would have been more successful. The only down side it the chorus is kind of repetitive.
5.No Substance-8/10 Really good lyrics, However i do not like the music in this one alot.
6.Raise Your Voice- 6/10 Its another OK songs In my opinion the should have put the version that was release as single (with a guest singer)
7.Showing the seeds of Utopia- 8/10 short fast and great lyrics.
8.The hippy killers- 7/10 pretty good song I like the lyrics alot more than the music, The whispers are pretty creepy thoe.
9.The end of the millennium address- 4/10 Its not the good in my opinion But some of the lines are really good.
10.The vicarious march of godliness- 6/10 Is really longs and the chorus kind of gets on my nerves
11.Mediocer Minds- 9/10 A grate songs fast Short and grate lyrics and grate music.
12.Victims of the Revolution- 6/10 ITs OK The music is interesting at some-points but boring at others lyrics are pretty good
13. Strange Denial- 7/10 Pretty good i like the music of the verses alot the chorus is pretty good too. THe lyrics are Good .
14.At the mercy of imbeciles -8/10 Grate song short fast and grate music and lyrics. Shortest song on the album
15. The same person - 7/10 Pretty good The chorus is worst part of the song but its not that bad, The verses are pretty good in my opinion
16.In So many ways- 7/10 pretty good it has a wierd felling to it .

The Booklet has some cool pictures. But its pretty short.
Over all i give the album 7/10 Its good but not grate its pretty long compared to some other albums. there are a lot of songs on the album and none of them suck badly. February 15, 2007

Paid Full Retail Price, and No Regrets

I can credit this album, with encouraging me to continue buy more BR albums, (having started with "Empire Strikes First").

I do not think this CD is such a great departure from BR's prior works as the Amazon critics seem to believe. You could move slow songs like "The Answer" from Generator - or "Struck a Nerve" from Recepie for Hate - onto here, and they'd fit right in.

There are a couple of throwaway tracks like "Hippy Killers" and "Biggest Killer in American History". (Very repetitive sounding). But I think the rest of the album stands up well, to the BR library. January 17, 2007

Very very good.

So many people give this album bad reviews. I think that most of it is just the "no Brett" prejudice, but the rest is probably just going along with everyone else's closed-mindedness. I just got this album, and it is AMAZING! It starts off with a great song, and it just keeps on delivering. The fact that Brett Gurewitz didn't write any songs on this album didn't make Greg's songs any less good. This album has tons of energy, catchy melodies, and amazing lyrics. It doesn't really sound like the typical Bad Religion album, but believe you me--it is DEFINITELY worth buying.

(Find and read the lyrics for The State Of The End Of Millenium Address and tell me that they don't make you scratch your head.) May 21, 2006

This album is incredible

Pay NO attention to the reviews dissing No Substance. I am a *huge* Bad Religion fan. Boots, singles, CDs, hell, I even have the early hard-to-find vinyl. AND I am a huge music fan in general with 3500+ CDs. This isn't my most favorite Bad Religion CD, not sure what that would be. BUT, this is the most listened to CD in my entire collection, by FAR.

No Substance is an amazing, just amazing recording (uh, except for "Hear It" which is commercial schlock). I have listened to this album literally hundreds of times. I cannot recommend it highly enough, especially "Mediocre Minds". This is one of the best BR CDs, and that's coming from a hardcore fan. Buy it. You won't regret it. I absolutely love this album.

Did I say this is THE most listened to CD in my *entire* collection, which ranges from punk to new age to folk to techno to metal to hippie jambands? Yes. I cannot recommend this highly enough, 5 stars isn't enough. Thoughtful, interesting, ferocious in places, just freakin' great.

Ignore the folks whining that it isn't Suffer or No Control or Generator. No Substance has rewards a-plenty for the listener who pays attention. Highly recommended. April 15, 2006

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