Bad Religion

American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1980. Founding members included Greg Graffin (vocals), Brett Gurewitz (guitar), Jay Bentley (bass), and Jay Ziskrout (drums). Pioneers of melodic hardcore punk; Gurewitz founded Epitaph Records to release the band's debut.

The band's identity is built around dense, intellectual lyrics (Graffin holds a PhD in zoology), three-part vocal harmonies, and direct political commentary. Suffer (1988) is widely cited as a foundational text of the genre. Subsequent peaks: No Control (1989), Against the Grain (1990), Generator (1992), Recipe for Hate (1993), and the major-label Stranger Than Fiction (1994). Seventeen studio albums total.