Bad Religion - Christmas Songs

This is punk-rock band Bad Religion's 17th(!!) album. It was released in 2013, three years after The Dissent of Man. 

As a punk-rock band named "Bad Religion" doing an album of Christmas carols, we best not take things too seriously. So here's a quick rundown of my favourites.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing: Gotta love the pompous choir intro, for maximum contrast when the rock band kicks in. Hearing "hail the incarnate deity" being belted out during a punk-rock song has absurd appeal.

O Come All Ye Faithful: The roughness of the gravelly vocals is a highlight. Also I really enjoy how it step it up another gear after the first chorus, thanks to the swirling guitars and backing vocals.

White Christmas: Lighthearted Ramones-esque pop-punk works a treat here.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen: An excellent punk-rock song, even without the novelty of the lyrics. Like O Come All Ye Faithful, the extra size added after the first chorus is wonderful.

Angels We Have Heard on High: Wonderful chorus.

American Jesus: What a brilliant punk-rock song (embarrassingly, I thought it was from the musical Jesus Chris Superstar...). The build-up of the bridge is utterly inspiring.

Audio quality rant

It is both very enjoyable yet also nothing particularly special. It is simply a case of a clean sound (aside from the occasional clipping of the floor-tom), punchy drums, a bass guitar laying solid foundations, spacious guitars, intelligible lead vocals and occasionally expanding the sound with background vocals. But by just getting all these basic correct, the result is a very enjoyable experience.

 

I diggit?

This album was probably created as a piss-take... but I really enjoy it as an alternate expression of traditional carols.