Generator is an acclaimed album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. Although the album was completed in the spring of 1991, it was not released until 1992. It was also the band's first release with drummer Bobby Schayer, who replaced Pete Finestone during the Against the Grain tour. Today, Generator has been remembered as one of the best albums to emerge from the early 90s punk scene, and one of the most enduring works of Bad Religion's career.

The album was originally planned for release sometime around mid to late 1991, but the band had decided not to release it. The had decided to take a break after the Against the Grain tour ended, so its release was forced to be delayed until early 1992.

Like Bad Religion's first four 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. As of 2008, the original CD version of the album is out of print.

A video was made for "Atomic Garden". It is available for watching here This was the first video Bad Religion ever released.

Musical style

Generator is considered the band's most ambitious and mature effort to date, slowing tempos on songs like "The Answer" and "No Direction," and experimenting with darker lyrics and, on "Two Babies in the Dark," bluesy guitar work.

Production and marketing

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".

According to The Bad Religion Page, 100,000 copies of the album were shipped.

Track listing

#	Song	Length	Credits
01	"Generator"	3:21	Brett Gurewitz
02	"Too Much to Ask"	2:45	Greg Graffin
03	"No Direction"	3:14	Greg Graffin
04	"Tomorrow"	1:56	Greg Graffin
05	"Two Babies in the Dark"	2:25	Brett Gurewitz
06	"Heaven Is Falling"	2:04	Brett Gurewitz
07	"Atomic Garden"	3:10	Brett Gurewitz
08	"The Answer"	3:21	Greg Graffin
09	"Fertile Crescent"	2:08	Greg Graffin
10	"Chimaera"	2:28	Greg Graffin
11	"Only Entertainment"	3:12	Greg Graffin
12	"Fertile Crescent" †	2:18	Greg Graffin
13	"Heaven Is Falling" †	2:18	Brett Gurewitz

† = Exclusive to the 2004 remastered version of Generator. Prior to the recording of the album, these tracks were part of the 7" split with Noam Chomsky, issued by Maximum Rock 'N' Roll as part of an anti-Gulf War benefit.

Personnel

• Greg Graffin – lead vocals
• Greg Hetson – guitar
• Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backing vocals
• Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Bobby Schayer – drums, percussion
• Eddie Schreyer – mastering
• Norman Moore – art direction

References