No Substance

No Substance
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 5, 1998
RecordedJune 1997–February 1998
StudioPyramid Sound, Polypterus Studio, Ithaca, New York
GenrePunk rock[1]
Length41:53
LabelAtlantic
ProducerBad Religion, Alex Perialas, Ronnie Kimball
Bad Religion chronology
Tested
(1997)
No Substance
(1998)
The New America
(2000)
Singles from No Substance
  1. "Raise Your Voice"
    Released: 1998
  2. "The Biggest Killer in American History"
    Released: 1998

No Substance is the tenth full-length album by the punk rock band Bad Religion. It was the band's third (or fourth, if the reissue of Recipe for Hate is counted) release on Atlantic Records, and their second studio album since guitarist Brett Gurewitz's departure.

No Substance was anticipated by both music critics and fans as a result of the band's previous worldwide successes with their 1994 major label debut Stranger Than Fiction and its 1996 follow up The Gray Race. The album has been met with mixed reviews and was not as successful as band's past releases. The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008. No songs of the album would turn into live staples; "Raise Your Voice" is occasionally played live in Germany due to Die Toten Hosen singer Campino's guest vocals.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Alternative Rock8/10[3]
Robert Christgau(dud)[4]
CMJ New Music Monthly(positive)[5]
The Indianapolis Star[6]
NME[7]
Rolling Stone[1]
San Antonio Express-News(positive)[8]
Spin[9]
Wall of Sound70/100[10]

Author Dave Thompson, in his book Alternative Rock (2000), wrote that the shared songwriting credits make this the band's "most eclectic album ever, eagerly exploring new sounds and styles... ah, Into the Unknown II! Only better."[3]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hear It"Greg Graffin1:49
2."Shades of Truth"Graffin4:01
3."All Fantastic Images"Graffin, Brian Baker2:08
4."The Biggest Killer in American History"Graffin2:14
5."No Substance"Graffin3:04
6."Raise Your Voice!" (featuring Campino)Graffin2:55
7."Sowing the Seeds of Utopia"Graffin2:01
8."The Hippy Killers"Graffin3:01
9."The State of the End of the Millennium Address"Graffin, Baker2:22
10."The Voracious March of Godliness"Graffin2:27
11."Mediocre Minds"Graffin, Greg Hetson1:56
12."Victims of the Revolution"Graffin, Baker3:17
13."Strange Denial"Graffin3:02
14."At the Mercy of Imbeciles"Graffin, Baker, Hetson1:34
15."The Same Person"Graffin, Baker, Jay Bentley2:49
16."In So Many Ways"Graffin3:04
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
17."Dream of Unity"Graffin2:50
US limited edition bonus promo disc
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Universal Cynic" (B-side, 1996)Graffin2:18
2."Markovian Process" (B-side, 1994)Graffin1:30
3."News from the Front" (B-side, 1994)Brett Gurewitz, Bentley, Bobby Schayer2:23
4."Leaders and Followers" (B-side, 1994)Graffin2:42
5."Dream of Unity" (from Tested, 1997)Graffin2:52
6."Tested" (from Tested, 1997)Graffin3:04
7."The Answer" (live) (B-side, 1998)Graffin3:11
8."The Dodo" (B-side, 1996)Graffin, Baker2:10
9."Follow the Leader" (previously unreleased)Graffin, Bentley, Baker, Schayer4:28

[11]

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[12]

Bad Religion
Additional musicians
Technical
  • Bad Religion – producer, engineer
  • Alex Perialas – producer, engineer
  • Ronnie Kimball – producer, engineer
  • Jason Arnold – additional engineer
  • Mike Dy – additional engineer
  • Fred Kevorkian – additional engineer
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing
  • Gavin Lurssen – mastering
  • Danielle Gibson – art coordination
  • Steve Raskin – art direction, design
  • Valerie Wagner – art direction, design
  • Terry Richardson – photography
  • Chris Toliver – photography

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[13] 18
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[14] 68
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[15] 17
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 28
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[17] 54
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[18] 23
US Billboard 200[19] 78

Notes

  • "The State of The End of The Millennium Address" is written like a speech, very similar to the beginning of "Voice of God is Government" from How Could Hell Be Any Worse?.
  • If you dial the 800 number, it will link through to ConAgra Foods customer service (No longer in service - April 16, 2017).
  • On the European release, Campino sings alternating lines on "Raise Your Voice". On the US version, he only provides backing vocals.
  • The cover art model has been widely reported[20][21][22] as being actress Kristen Johnston, but she refuted this claim in 2019 via a Twitter post.[23]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b archive
  2. ^ No Substance at AllMusic
  3. ^ a b Thompson 2000, p. 170
  4. ^ "CG: bad religion". Robert Christgau. Retrieved March 3, 2012.
  5. ^ Jacks, Kelso (June 1998). "Reviews". CMJ New Music Monthly (58): 36.
  6. ^ Bacon, Scott (May 31, 1998). "Corgan is one sensitive Pumpkin on 'Adore'". Indianapolis Star. p. I4.
  7. ^ Beaumont, Mark (April 4, 1998). "Bad Religion - No Substance". NME. Archived from the original on October 9, 2000.
  8. ^ Johnson, Robert (August 12, 1998). "Quick Spins". San Antonio Express-News.
  9. ^ Milner, Greg (June 1998). "Reviews". Spin. 14 (6): 138.
  10. ^ Graff, Gary. "Review: No Substance". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on April 15, 2001. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "No Substance - CD - 1998". The Bad Religion Page. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  12. ^ No Substance (Media notes). Bad Religion. Atlantic. 1998.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Bad Religion – No Substance" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  14. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3565". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "Bad Religion: No Substance" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Bad Religion – No Substance" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Bad Religion – No Substance". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  18. ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  19. ^ "Bad Religion Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  20. ^ "Kristen Johnston". TVGuide.com.
  21. ^ "Johnston, Kristen 1967– Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.
  22. ^ "Kristen Johnston". Film Beat.
  23. ^ "thekjohnston". Twitter.

Sources