The Empire Strikes First
Appearance
Untitled | |
---|---|
The Empire Strikes First is the thirteenth studio album by Bad Religion, released on June 8, 2004.
Reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 70/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
IGN | [3] |
Robert Christgau | [4] |
RTÉ | [5] |
Rolling Stone | [6] |
The Empire Strikes First was released on June 8, 2004, and peaked at number 40 on the Billboard 200 album chart,[7] the highest position the band had attained at the time. The album scored a minor radio hit with, "Los Angeles Is Burning", which also reached No. 40 on the Billboard modern rock tracks chart.
Track listing
- "Overture" (Gurewitz) – 1:09
- "Sinister Rouge" (Graffin) – 1:53
- "Social Suicide" (Graffin) – 1:35
- "Atheist Peace"(Graffin) – 1:57
- "All There Is" (Gurewitz) – 2:57
- "Los Angeles Is Burning" (Gurewitz) – 3:23
- "Let Them Eat War" (Gurewitz, Francis, Wackerman, Baker, Bentley) – 2:57
- "God's Love" (Graffin) – 2:32
- "To Another Abyss" (Graffin) – 4:07
- "The Quickening" (Gurewitz, Wackerman, Chris Wollard) – 2:19
- "The Empire Strikes First" (Gurewitz, Baker) – 3:23
- "Beyond Electric Dreams" (Gurewitz, Wackerman, Wollard) – 4:02
- "Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever" (Gurewitz) – 3:49
- "Live Again (The Fall of Man)" (Graffin) – 3:35
Japan bonus track
- "The Surface of Me" (Graffin) – 3:01
Personnel
Bad Religion
- Greg Graffin – lead vocals, producer
- Greg Hetson – guitar
- Brian Baker – guitar, backup vocals
- Brett Gurewitz – guitar, backup vocals, producer
- Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backup vocals
- Brooks Wackerman – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
Musicians
- David Bragger – violin on "Atheist Peace"
- Mike Campbell – guitar on "Los Angeles is Burning"
- Sage Francis – guest vocals on "Let Them Eat War"
- John Ginty – Hammond B-3 on "Los Angeles is Burning"
- Leopold Ross – Sonic Alienator on "Beyond Electric Dreams"
- Claude Sarne – goth choir soprano on "Sinister Rouge"
Other
- Atticus Ross – programming
- Joe Barresi – engineer, mixing
- Tom Baker – mastering
- Pete Martinez – assistant engineer
- June Murakawa – assistant engineer
- Nick Pritchard – design
- Sean Murphy – photography
- Matt Rubin – photography
Release history
Country | Release date |
---|---|
United Kingdom | June 7, 2004 |
Worldwide | |
United States | June 8, 2004 |
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
Year | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|
2004 | The Billboard 200 | 40 |
Top independent albums | 2 | |
Top Internet albums | 40 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | "Los Angeles Is Burning" | Modern rock tracks | 40 |
References
- ^ "The Empire Strikes First by Bad Religion". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ AllMusic
- ^ IGN
- ^ "Robert Christgau: CG: bad religion". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ "Bad Religion - The Empire Strikes First". RTÉ News. June 30, 2004.
- ^ "Album Reviews". Retrieved 3 October 2016.
- ^ "The Empire Strikes First's entry at Billboard.com". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
External links
- The Empire Strikes First at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)