Customer Reviews

Recipe for Hate

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Classic Bad Religion album full of critical, intelligent and usually sarcastic toned lyrics on top of catchy (almost poppy which is why some people find this album dis-tasteful) songs. the music is not as punk-oriented or hardcore as in other BR albums such as the straight ahead punk album STRANGER THAN FICTION. there are some slower songs where the music complements greg's voice and this album is a bit more produced than other BR albums.
this album is more rock and melody driven, more song driven. It still has the BR bite lyrically with lyrics that are stark yet retain a good sense of humor and they still have the greatest rhythm section ever which only elevate the music and the band far above the rest. this is one of the gretest punk bands and one of the greatest albums by this band. Songs like STRUCK A NERVE, which spews emotion so deep i almost drown. Another no brainer of an album and this is definitely an album you want to check out and a band that is worth your time.
Out of all of the Southern Californian hardcore punk bands of the early '80s, Bad Religion stayed around the longest. For over a decade, they retained their underground credibility without turning out a series of indistinguishable records that all sound the same. Instead, the band refined their attack, adding inflections of psychedelia, heavy metal, and hard rock along the way, as well as a considerable dose of melody. Between their 1982 debut and their first major-label record, 1993's Recipe for Hate, Bad Religion stayed vital in the hardcore community by tightening their musical execution and keeping their lyrics complex and righteously angry

Although this album is not considered to be one of Bad Religion's better albums, I rank it first on my list for the simple reason that I listen to it the most. The songs are not typically sung in Bad Religion's fast paced style as showcased on earlier recordings. For that I urge you to pick up Suffer. Recipe for Hate however has more melodic songs, and is different in that it is a complete album. The tracks relate to each previous track's theme. To better define what I mean, this album is like reading a book and appreciating the story.

Lyrically it is their best effort. The album deals with topics of politics (of course), religion, and really focuses on self examination. What hits me the hardest is when Gregg sings about his frustration over how people enter into cliques, and how he can't seem to fit into any structure because he is such an individual..."I scoff at labels,I defy censuses and despise group mentality." He admits he is an outsider, accknowledges that he will suffer from not belonging, but claims he will never belong even if he's destined to suffer.

On a personal level I can relate to Gregg. Being a teenager, I see people sporting the popular name brand appearal, or praying for the weekend so they can get drunk and hit the parties, hoping to score some action with a drunk girl who will be out of their life after that one night. I have been combating this typically shallow way of life for "normal" teens, and constantly stuggle with it, but this album has made it alright and even great to be different. I mean, that is what this punk thing is all about anyway. I know I'm not alone when I say that it feels like I am on the outside looking in (check out "Looking In - track 10"). As Gregg says in the album, "Observing those around us, desiring to belong, beneath the guise of salvation, we suffer all along the way."

In conclusion, this album is not for everyone. If you have share similar views with me (feeling like an outsider), then pick up this album. If you are just getting into BR, get Suffer, No Control and especially All Ages, which covers all the classic BR songs from the Epitaph days. But please don't buy the album if you are only into heavy punk with idiotic, meaningless lyrics. (Just cuz they toured with Blink dont make Blink good!) Bad Religion's stuff is meant to stimulate the mind. Recipe for Hate is your recipe for exactly that.

Why has this album gotten so much bad press over the years? While perhaps not BR's best, it is certianly not an album to be ignored. Intense lyrics, wonderful guitars, and that amazing punk feel culminate in an amazing piece of work. Check this out, and with an open mind you will be rewarded.

This is one of the weaker Bad Religion albums, and it is strange that it was their breakout album. The lyrics are incredible, but listening to it, I wished that the instrumentation was tighter. There are times on the album when Gurewitz can't seem to find the riff he is looking for, and it becomes distracting. The highlights on the album include the title track, Portrait of Authority, and American Jesus, which is good, but highly overrated. If you want a far surperior BR album check out either No Control or Suffer, and then All Ages, a compilation of their best songs produced while they were with indie mega-label Epitaph.

This was my first contact with Bad Religion, some eight years after this album was originally released. What a grateful surprise!! Straight ahead rock (Call it hardcore, punk, whatever you want!), superb lyrics, aggressiveness and melody in the right proportion. Amazing. Now I'm going to get other albuns by them.

As if Bad Religion didn't depart from their earlier sound enough on GENERATOR, they did it again with RECIPE FOR HATE. This album is very dark and dissonant at times. It is definately not for everyone and because this was their first major label release it is often shunned by hardcore punks. But this album is I think one of the classic rock albums of the 90's, it's almost flawless, and contains probably the most popular Bad Religion song "American Jesus".

1. Recipe For Hate (10/10) The misfit song of this album, sounds more like early Bad Religion, almost like it would fit in better on SUFFER.
2. Kerosene (9/10) Strangely slow, but soothing song.
3. American Jesus (10/10
4. Portrait Of Authority (9/10)
5. Man With A Mission (10/10) Excellently written, a far departure from what they usually do, even for this album. It contains a steel guitar!!! A goddamn steel guitar! Can you believe that?
6. All Good Soldiers (10/10)
7. Watch It Die (7/10) I'm not sure who is singing in the middle, it might be Jay Bentley, but it sounds like Scott Stapp from Creed, so I'll deduct points for that.
8. Struck A Nerve (9/10)
9. My Poor Friend Me (10/10)
10. Lookin' In (10/10)
11. Don't Pray On me (10/10) Definately the album's strongest song, but Brett did mess up on the lyrics when he wrote them and he appoligized for that.
12. Modern Day Catastrophists (10/10)
13. Skyscraper (10/10)
14. Stealth (6/10) The weakest song on the album, but still not that bad.

Now, this is my third BR CD. Is just awesome. You won't find two of great lyric writers (Greg Graffin and Brett Burewitz) together easily. This CD really wakes up your mind and makes you see the light. One of the most controversial (and probably one of the best BR songs) is American Jesus. I've argued with friends about what Brett and Greg tried to say by writing this song. We ended up getting two different meanings. First, they talk about how the upper class praise Jesus, who was from the lower class, at the level of the bums. That was my friend's perception. Mine was that they were using sarcasm all over (well, my friend also thought so) and that what they meant is that people don't care about anything else that is not the US because "it's the only good thing" since the rest of the world is "lower". Other good songs in here are Kerosene, Recipe For Hate, All Good Soldiers, Watch It Die, Struck A Nerve, and Modern Day Catastrophists. It's a great album and the lyrics are very thoughtful. That's what I love about BR. They make you meditate about their songs. If you're new to BR, it's a good way to start, though, I'd rather recommend you to buy Stranger Than Fiction or The Grey Race so you can get used to the lyrics little by little (the lyrics in this album might be offensive to some, though there are not to many curses in it). If you like BR, stop reading this crappy article and buy the damn CD!

Those who think punk rock's about offensive lyrics and loud music, you're wrong. Those who know that punk rock has almost always been a political thing, all I can say is good for you. This c.d has it all, mellow music and awesome lyrics. American Jesus, Skyscraper, Recipe For Hate, and American Jesus are great examples of modern society. All I can tell you is "Get this C.D.!

A long while back a friend of mine turned me on to Bad Religion and their music by playing me some tracks from his "Against The Grain" cassette that he had recently purchased. This was sometime in early 1993. Months later, this album - "Recipe For Hate" - was released. This same friend brought me his CD that he had purchased of this album and excitedly played me the entire album. I had thought the songs he played me from "Against The Grain" were good, but when I heard this album I truly became a huge Bad Religion fan immediately. Within a few months following the release of this album, I had the entire collection on CD. To this day, they're now one of my top favorite bands of all time.

Greg Graffin's lyrics are among the very best of Bad Religions output throughout this record and the musical hooks bleed all over the place from the beginning to the end. Even Eddie Vedder makes a vocal appearance on "Watch It Die" which is mixed so well that you'd barely know it's him given how his vocals were mixed on Pearl Jam's "Ten" which was released a year before this. Mr. Brett's production is slick and punchy at the same time which was a highlight on the previous album "Generator" but with this album it's more rounded out. If there's a bad track on this album I surely can't name one (we can't count "Stealth").

Of course, it's well known that this is the album that lead to Bad Religion signing to Atlantic Records. It was with good reason. Unfortunately, that label was never able to generate any real money out of Bad Religion and the band would suffer a bit musically once Mr. Brett had to leave the band to concentrate on Epitaph Records unexpected rise in sales thanks to The Offspring & Rancid. This is the album that sort of began an interesting period for Bad Religion. One that I feel they managed to survive very well given the trends they were put up against and with Greg Graffin having to assume most of the writing responsibilties with Mr. Brett absent from the band until "The Process Of Belief" came out in 2002.

If you're a new fan of Bad Religion it's not a bad idea to start with this album. The older fan would tell you to start with "Suffer" or "How Could Hell Be Any Worse?" but I feel that the band reached it's musical peak with the lineup that played on "Recipe For Hate" and the follow-up album (and the 1st officially recorded for Atlantic Records) "Stranger Than Fiction".

Standout tracks include - "Recipe For Hate", "Kerosene", "American Jesus", "Portrait Of Authority", "Watch It Die", "My Poor Friend Me", "Lookin In", "Modern Day Catastrophists" & "Skyscraper".

"recipe for hate","American Jesus", "modern day catastrophits" are all bad ass songs that have good guitar riffs. See with me, punk rock is all about how the music jumps into your veins and makes you want to get up and break stuff. I listen to lyrics too, but the guitar is such a great instrument. Greg Graffen drives me nuts with his hand gestures and he just looks retarted, but Bad Religion is one of the best bands ever. This CD is awesome, like i said it makes me want to mosh, great punk.