Bass Teacher Hears BAD RELIGION for the First Time! "EPIPHANY" Reaction & Analysis
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- Опубліковано 6 лип 2024
- FULL-ALBUM Reactions, Lessons & More 👉 / lowenduniversity
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➡️ Bad Religion sounded nothing like I thought they would. I was pleasantly surprised at their sense of melodic songwriting kickstarted by a beautiful bass intro from Jay Bentley. Our patrons threw out many song suggestions for this band when I asked, and I just picked the longest track length I saw - and - I'm really stoked this was my first impression of the band. I discuss Jay's soft-yet-gritty bass tone, his approach to the song's intro, the effective tension used during the pre-chorus (almost a diminished sequence), a music theory analysis of the song's chord progressions, Jay's use of contrasting articulations under the guitar parts, and much more! 😮💨🤌🏼
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0:00 Intro
0:36 Reaction / Analysis
12:37 Final Thoughts
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Mark Michell is an internationally-touring and recording bass player known for his work with Scale the Summit, Tony MacAlpine, Tetrafusion, Watermox, and more. Michell is a published educator and author for Hal Leonard, the world's largest music publisher, and has taught bass clinics around the globe for many years. He founded Low End University in 2015, and has since enrolled over 2,500 students through his lessons program. Alongside his educational endeavors, he played on many Billboard-charting album releases and is sponsored by Jackson Basses, EMG Pickups, and Dunlop.
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👉 Original Video from @epitaph: • Bad Religion - "Epipha...
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Okay, I have a feeling this is a band I'll REALLY like. Where should I go next?
They have a ton of fan favorites. I'd say go back in their catalogue a bit and check out "21st Century Digital Boy" which was arguably their first big hit in the punk community.
21st Century Digital Boy is also another slow tempo song. Pick something that cooks a bit more....Suffer, The Henchman, No Control! And by Suffer and No Control I mean the actual named songs, not the albums in general.
This is my favorite band. Jay does alot of cool stuff in New Dark Ages, like palm mutes in sync with the drums in the pre-chorus, takes a walk on the bridge... etc. It's faster, a lil more raw, but really, just spin the roulette wheel, they write fantastic songs across the board.
@@davidferrand878 Fair point!
Empire Strikes First is a well crafted album. Always dug that one.
You’ve just tapped into one the most iconic punk rock bands!
Amen
Not only that but they are still absolutely killing it live
Mr. Brett forgot to erase the NOFX Sticking In My Eye intro from the tape 😂😂. Mark check out NOFX Sticking In My Eye now 😉
Always wondered the story behind that.
The intro is like a carbon copy of Stickin in My Eye. But slower. This was in ‘02 and stickin in my eye was ‘92. 😅
@@PoopscoopMcgoop204 Has to be some sort of tribute.. But It sure was weird the first time i listen to the track
Jay Bentley is the one who plays it. If you listen to the first or second episode of fat mikes fat Mike fat Mike confronts him with humor about it.
That’s a pretty common skate punk riff though. Check out any of those FWC and Epitaph bands from the 90s and early 00s. There’s some killer bass licks in skate punk.
This song does fuck though. Fucks hard.
Bad Religion basically invented three part vocal harmonies in punk and are probably the most important band in modern punk (they coined the “forbidden beat” and introduced lyrical depth and melody in a way rarely done previously). You’d be hard pressed to find a post 80s punk band not influenced by Bad Religion (Fat Mike will tell you, with no shame, that he made an early career off trying to sound like Bad Religion). This track isn’t necessarily the best representation of their overall sound, but it does show off Jay in a great way. Process Of Belief was kind of their “comeback” album after a few poorly received major label releases and is still considered pretty groundbreaking. Great stuff as always!
Bad Religion was the first melodic hardcore band i heard and with that style of drumming, seeing their live VHS in the early 90's made me want to play drums fast like Pete Finestone (I was influenced by Aaron Cometbus and Dan Panic at first)
Fatty also well known for saying that Bad Religion is the greatest punk rock band ever....
@@1thess523 Dan Panic is sorely underrated drummer. Some of the interesting stuff he does on the My Brain Hurts album is awesome and mostly flies under the radar.
This album was the official return of Brett Guriewitz, and three full time guitarists… This album is a masterpiece!
Check out Part iii from their first album!
I just wanna say you are very welcome in the punk rock community.... Your pure honesty and excitement is contagious!!! The passionate love for music and a new love for punk rock is so awesome!!! 🤘
Well said, couldn't agree more.
The hardcore community would probably also like to welcome him. :)
I second this wholeheartedly
Third it👍🏻👊🏼
Bad Religion is so melodic. Please deep dive this legendary punk band. They deserve the recognition and love. Their 3 part harmonies have been piercing punk rock hearts for over 40 years
Jay is the quintessential punk rock bass player. Never takes center stage, but does just enough to remind you he's there, and adds melody in all the right places.
Exactly what I said over on the patreon, he is the definition of a steady bassist. He also understands the talent around him, Brett, Brian, and Greg Hetson (who was on this record) are INSANE guitarists. They all are 3 of the most dynamic guitarists in all of punk rock and as such, Jay understands instead of being a lead figure, with that talent its best to often sit back and let them shred.
Bad Religion is my #1 since Suffer dropped in "88. NOFX #2 after Ribbed in "91. Awesome to see a reaction channel dive into their work.
Ribbed! What an album!
@@arrulf stayed in my tape deck for 2 years
Great intro by one of the best overall Rock n Roll bands ever. Jay has some really fun runs on the No Control album.
That album is amazing!
I always felt like that buildup and release into the chorus perfectly encapsulates how it feels to actually have an epiphany. One of my favorites from Bad Religion
The bassline in "You" is killer!
Punk is like a library with all kind of books, but Bad Religion is like an encyclopedia that never gets old and everytime gets more fascinating. Cheers!❤
Bad religion Is my favorite all time
Really more like a thesaurus than an encyclopedia
That's so true! NOFX has a song called "I'm a huge fan of Bad Religion" and they are so right! Check it out @LowEndUniversity
There's nothing more melodic and epic in the punkrock universe than Bad Religion.
My favorite punk band of all time.
I get to see Bad Religion three days after seeing NOFX play their last show. That's going to be an epic week.
Are they playing in LA? I’m flying out for the final weekend, was bummed BR wasn’t playing, I thought for sure they would be there.
Not sure if you’ve seen BR lately, but I caught them a few months ago and they sound perfect, show was so much fun
@ImGrahamy I was hoping that they'd be there, along with Rancid. I'll be seeing them in South Dakota. It'll be their first time playing in my state, lol!
BR is playing bakersfield next year, straight from greg and jay from the bakersfield show a couple of months ago. i am going to that
I've seen them twice so far this year (Vegas and Pomona), they were fantastic. You're stoked
@@Basementn3k0that bakersfield show with social D was seriously good. So much fun.
Finally! My favourite band of all times
Always revered this tune. The way that chorus blossoms on the "neee" of "epiphany" is great songwriting.
Probably my favorite punk band of all time. Process isn't even in my top five Bad Religion albums, but their knack for melody and massive vocal harmonies are absolutely iconic.
You'll really love this full album. No Control is my favourite Bad Religion album.
In your reaction, you metioned they straddle "light' vs "dark" with the song. I feel that that is a very good evaluation of Bad Religion's music. Greg Graffin (lead singer) said in an interview that he tends to write music that has much "darker" tones. However, when he brings a song to the band to build it out, they tend to try and move the song towards a "lighter" tone (more melodic, more major). So this compromise creates a light and dark which exists with a lot of their music as a result. It's a really cool dynamic.
I saw a great interview with Jay where he talked about the longevity of the band. He said something to the effect of; I shouted "Fuck the Armageddon, this is hell" into a mic when I was fifteen. Soon I'll be shouting it into a mic in my sixties.
Very nice choice! Bad Religion has been my favourite punk band since I was 15.
Great choice!!! Can't believe I didn't mention this!!!
This bass is so like "Sticking in my eyes", from NOFX. Same notes, same rhythm. I Think is a homage.
It’s the same thing basically but nofx is in Em while this is in Dm. But yeah pretty the same series of notes within the respective key
NOFX makes jokes about this sometimes when they play Stickin In My Eye live. Sometimes they’ll even sing the intro vocals for this song over Mike’s bass intro. The bands are friends though so it’s all in good fun.
I'm a Bad Religion-"follower"😉since 1990. I just fell in love their fast but also
melodic songs like "suffer", "pessimistic lines", "you", "sanity", a.s.o..
And Jay Bentley is surely a big name when it comes to bassplayers...
Thanks a lot for the video!
Check out their album “no control”. Early Bad Religion and you’ll have that fast upbeat punk feel. I feel like the entire album is like 20 something minutes. It just comes at you so fast.
Suffer and No Control are both 15 songs, 26 minutes and change.
As a fan since the early 90s, no one was expecting this album. It still blows my mind listening to it. While the previous two albums were building to this, this was on whole new level.
Brooks is a hell of a drummer and Bad Religion is definitely one of those who made it cool to play fast, gritty but melodic music. Suffer and No Control are some of my all-time favorites.
Absolutely one of my all time favorite bands. I'm glad you dig them.
Ditto
I once saw Jay catch a beer thrown from the crowd whilst playing, bravely take a drink then throw it back just in time to hit the next change.
This community picked the perfect punk bands for this type of genre, pretty much in order of my all-time favorites since I was a teen... His facial expression when he's impressed or when the music hits him are so sincere.
Somebody being surprised that Bad Religion is melodic is HILARIOUS to me. You'd be hard pressed to find a band that's MORE melodic.
Check out Generator by Bad Religion
That intro sounds a lot like "stickin in my eye" by nofx
Good catch
I have been waiting impatiently for this reaction ever since you spilled the beans on Patreon. Bad Religion is another band much like Rancid that really changed my focus on music. When I first saw “Infected” on MTV in ‘94 (when I was in 4th grade) I had my parents take me straight over to Wherehouse Music to get a Bad Religion cd. I think I ended up actually getting “All Ages 80-85) before anything else. Just a great band with a great discography. A couple misses in-between but for the most part you can pretty much put on their entire discography and not have to skip through many tracks at all. Genius band, genius songwriting and very intellectual lyrics being their singer Greg Graffin has a PHD and used to be a professor at UCLA and Cornell University.
I heard do what you want on punk o Rama 1 and they have been my favorite band since. I went and bought suffer as my first album from them and they still my favorite band. Streetlight manifesto is a close second.
This is a very similar opening bass line as NoFX’s “Stickin’ in My Eye.” It’s eerily similar.
Ten years apart, with NoFX doing it first! Definitely an homage as the bands were quite close.
@@ewatfred You are 100% correct. I mean, the bass intro is a slightly different riff, but it’s definitely inspired by “Stickin’ in My Eye” - and there is no way it was accidental.
I’m really stoked that you finally got to BR ! Patrons are right, the bass is very good, but nothing out of this world either. With that said, the band has some of the best musicians and songwriters in the entire genre, so they’re 100% worth checking out.
Love this channel, its like re living when i discovered these songs so many years ago. I Love your work, dude!
When I was the tender age of 12, I heard Bad Religion - Stranger than Fiction for the first time. Didn't even know what punk rock was, but I was drawn to that sound and energy like a magnet. Still in my 5 top albums of all time. Thanks for the great analysis and reaction - always top notch
I was listening to bad religion YESTERDAY and wondered why you hadn’t “reacted” to one of their songs.
Few hours later this comes out.
Mind blown. Great video and amazing band.
I saw them just last week. An hour and fifteen minutes of pure hits. No talking. Just music. So good. Just so good. Love jay Bentley's playing.
Bad Religion is my all time favorite band! Thanks for doing them. You found a great song in their catalog to listen to and enjoy. I hope you seek out more of their music! I am still just loving your content direction and I always am eager to see what you do next.
On your psychobilly pursuits…check out a band called the Creepshow out of Canada. They have a really interesting history which I think you’ll enjoy. Can’t direct you towards a particular bass driven tune but yeah check em out
Since you mentioned Fugazi..... One of the guitarists for Bad Religion (Brian Baker) was a member of Minor Threat, which was Ian MacKaye's band pre-Fugazi....
One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite albums by one of my all time favorite bands. It’s a good day.
Most of BR's songs are fast, hardcore punk, but they're always very melodic and even their heavier songs pack in a wide variety of influences. For your next reaction to them, I would definitely second the recommendation of Turn On The Light. It's a short song, but it packs a hell of a punch and features a Jay Bentley solo. Or, if you want another mid-tempo one, I think Shades of Truth would be a great choice.
Listen to the fisrt track of this album. One of the best album openers ever, imo.
Agree. Supersonic is a little gem.
Just saw Bad Religion opening for Social Distortion about a month ago, they've definitely slowed down a bit in their old age but damn, they still sound incredible live. The Process of Belief is my favorite of their albums, But the Gray Race, Generator, Recipe for Hate, No Control... All great albums start to finish.
Thank you for featuring this song dude! By far my favorite BR album. You owe it to yourself to listen to this one front to back.
Suffer is their most influential album. Recipe for Hate is my favorite.
This was fun. Jay is one of my favorite punk bassists. He’s not flashy like some others, but he’s super melodic and always suits the song.
Can't say I expected you to delve into my favorite all-time band, but I'm happy you did! Like others have said, this song isn't super representative, but not being a bass player, I don't know what to suggest as a follow-up.
your doing.a great job finding all these bands, really enjoy hearing your input as a bass player/instructor and that you see the quality of bass players in the genre.
One of my favorite albums of all time here. Such a great jam.
I feel like people don't talk about how distinct Jay Bentley's tone and how well it compliments the rest of the instrumentation but also cuts through it at the same time. Check out "Don't Sell Me Short" from their slept-on album "A New America", "Before You Die" from "New Maps of Hell", "Generator" from the album with the same title, "Part III" from the 80-85 comp, "The Grey Race", or "Ten in 2010".
A little bit of punk trivia, fat mikes two favorite bands are RKL and Bad religion and you can totally hear that in NoFx song writing
The first thing you said after hearing the intro was key. They are absolutely very melodic. They created the "melodic hardcore" subgenre of punk rock, really starting with their album "Suffer", released in 1988. Their first releases, the self-titled EP (1981) and the "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" LP (1982) were very straightforward hardcore, followed by their attempt at prog rock, the aptly titled "Into the Unknown" album (1983), and then their return to hardcore form in 1985 with the even more aptly titled EP "Back to the Known". "Suffer" blended their hardcore roots with their desire to have more melody and harmony in their music. Both Greg Graffin (vocals) and Brett Gurewitz (guitar) were big fans of prog rock, including Jethro Tull and King Crimson, so they put some of that layering of sounds into their music from that point on.
one of my favorite BR songs.. i remember the first day i heard this album like it was yesterday
BR is just perfect and so melodic. Jay is so entertaining live and his playing is incredibly fast. I wish his playing stood out more live but they are in incredible band.
They do some great Christmas Carols if you want to plan some seasonal content.
Finally! BR is iconic! This song is a homeage to NOFX - Stickin in My Eye! Gotta listen it to it one of the most iconic bass intro ever in Punk.
Such a great band with an incredible library
The best band in the world!!!!
You are correct about Jay playing a P-Bass. NOFX even has a song called "I Am a Huge Fan of Bad Religion", that has the lyrics " I am a huge fan of Bad Religion I even bought a brown Fender Precision". Also one of the reasons I play a P-Bass. If its good enough for Jay Bentley, it's good enough for me.
BR is the best band ever!
Please do Turn On The Light. You’ll love it.
As always, thanks for another bass breakdown of great iconic punk rock songs! 🤘🏻
Despite having been dragged kicking and screaming to the temple of Bad Religion, I have become an evangelist. I'm grateful that you've made your way here and hope you linger and others (like @TheCharismaticVoice among others) also follow your path!
Thanks for all you do for us bassists at heart!
I feel so validated listening to you. Both my parents were classical musicians (opera singer and pianist) and my older sister followed in their footsteps, becoming a professional pianist. My music was not much of a topic growing up...
Bad Religion along with Descendents were kinda pioneers in the whole pop punk/melodic hardcore genre. This is one of their later albums, and a lot more melodic, but it's always been kind of present in their sound. They really live those harmonies.
Now check out NOFX's "Stickin' in my Eye"'s intro! :)
Oh - of course others beat me to this comment!
I love how much you appreciate music of all kinds
You picked a very strong song to start with this band. Keep it going
Cant believe it took me this long to realize that its just NOFX Stickin In My Eye bass line. Haha
I Just was wondering which NOFX song this bassline ist from. Thanks for helping with the memory😉
It ISN'T, but it's definitely similar.
Jay Bentley may be the most underrated bassist in all punk rock. Dude is an absolute beast.
Process of Belief is a perfect album.
Jay is a pretty quintessential punk bass player.
Not the most technical, but great tone, feels and fills
Some good ones to check out from Bad Religion in your free time and also for another reaction, these songs are all great! Some are in there because the bass is a little more front and center, some are in there because they're my favourites.
-Los Angeles is Burning
-Sorrow
-Kyoto Now!
-Kerosene
-All Good Soldiers
-Generator
-You
-Fuck Armageddon
-Part III
I absolutely love your channel and am thrilled you have finally gotten to one of the most iconic bands of all time. If they never release the Suffer album punk rock may have drifted into oblivion. This is a band worthy of a very deep dive. Enjoy!
Bad religion is the most melodic punk band and one of my absolute favorites.
That whole album is great!
The kings of melodic punk rock
Really cool analysis, tnx
My pleasure!
Bad Religion is the prime example of melodic hardcore. You should also checkout Better off Dead. My personal favorite song is All There Is
I was waiting for this one. I knew it was coming eventually! News From The Front has some fun bass parts.
First 3 tracks in this record make me want to run through a wall. One of my favorites
Oooh ooh do "you" by Bad Religion. They are OGs of melodic punk.
Love BR!
Yes!! BR 🤘
Check out against the grain from Bad Religion
Thanks for the video!!
Jay is a very good punk rocker bassist! He do what a punk bassist have to do, when he need to be creative he do it, when he need to support all the base of the song he do it.
Getting Brooks to drums was a huge change in the songs, he style is different from Bobby, it becomes more evident in the next album after, "The empire strikes first".
Pleeease make a video about Championg, from Charlie Brown jr. Google for "tarja preta" or "como tudo deve ser"
Sounds a lot like sticking in my eye by NOFX
Absolutly ! it's almost the same chords. I remember learning NOFX tabs at the same time (early 2000's)
Dude, for Bad Religion, one of the best bass verses ever written on the song "News from the front" from Stranger than Fiction record. The lines and phrasing is 🤌
The way Jay moves under everything reminds me of how John McVie does in Fleetwood Mac. For unbridled rage I would say Sometimes I Feel Like off No Control. Shades of Truth is another good bass intro song of theirs on No Substance. Los Angeles is Burning and Lost Pilgrim have this "sproing" sound in the bass which I love. Most BR albums are recorded with a '78 P bass. Met Jay at Namm many years ago cool guy.
People always seem to dislike no substance but I think its a great album. I dont like new America expect there will be a way is a song that I listened to every morning in rehab years ago it helped me get my day going
It's a great album by a great band.
The definitive thinking man's punk band.
TE AMO BAD RELIGION! ❤
Bro you've still got to do Minor Threat no punk rock rabbit hole is complete without them I suggest Salad Days it has interesting bass parts for 80s punk
Good suggestion
I Don't Wanna Hear It!!! 😆
Absolutely incredible song!
They are my all time favorite band with a singer voted the smartest musician ever
I don't know if it's been suggested yet, but Saves the Day has some great bass licks. You should check out At Your Funeral.
Also, should check out The Ergs, could be cool to do First Song into A Very Pretty Song for A Very Special Lady (they kinda flow into eachother)
Yes. BR is very melodic. But also not so melodic but 100% EPIC with "We're Only Gonna Die".
That's THE best punk band in the whole of history. Their music really changed my life. They are the master in the art of punk rock.