Generator | ||||
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Studio album by Bad Religion | ||||
Released | March 13, 1992 | |||
Recorded | May 1991 | |||
Studio | Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California | |||
Genre | Punk rock | |||
Length | 30:04 | |||
Label | Epitaph | |||
Producer | Bad Religion | |||
Bad Religion chronology | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | |
PopMatters | (favorable) |
Generator is the sixth studio album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. Although the album was completed in the spring of 1991, it was not released until 1992. The reason that the album's release date was pushed back was because Bad Religion was not happy with the artwork and packaging, and in order to release it, they went through ideas that were scrapped.Generator was the band's first release with drummer Bobby Schayer, who replaced Pete Finestone during the Against the Grain tour.
Generator includes some fan favorites and concert staples, such as, "Generator", "No Direction", "Heaven Is Falling", "Atomic Garden", and "The Answer". The album was promoted with Bad Religion's first music video, which was filmed for the song "Atomic Garden".
Generator marked a shift in songwriting-style for the band. Although many songs hold true to their hardcore-punk roots ("Generator", "Tomorrow", "Fertile Crescent"), select tracks suggested the band moving towards a slower, more experimental route ("Two Babies In The Dark", "The Answer"), as well as a much darker one ("Atomic Garden"). While not as dark, this experimental period would continue through the next album, 1993's Recipe For Hate.
Writing sessions for Generator began around late 1990/early 1991. After Schayer joined Bad Religion in April 1991, the band immediately started work on their follow-up to Against the Grain. With an intended release date of mid-to-late 1991, they recorded it at Westbeach Recorders in Hollywood, California in May of that year.
Generator was recorded almost live in the studio, because, at the time, guitarist Brett Gurewitz had moved Westbeach to larger premises, and for the first time, the entire band could play in the studio at the same time. He stated that it was "time to change" and the band "did it in a different studio, but as far as the songwriting, it was a deliberate effort to try something different".
Along with Bad Religion's first five albums (minus Into the Unknown), Epitaph Records released a remastered version of Generator on April 6, 2004, with two exclusive tracks that were taken from the split 7" with Noam Chomsky issued by Maximum Rock'N Roll in 1991. These versions feature Finestone on drums, making it his final recordings with Bad Religion.