Let's get it out in the open and say it - I can't help but hope that Green Day and The Offspring donate half their royalties to Bad Religion because the mansions they're all sat in are built (read 'stole') on the foundations of this great band. Bad Religion probably don't care and everybody has influences and idols and, let's face it, I bet most Über Röckers would always back the underdog and the cult band over the behemoth of the sell outs and flawless, right??

In that case, it's your lucky day..............Bad Religion and 'The Dissent Of Man' is here.

Politics, religion and freedom are ever present and are the staple of any of the SoCal legends' fifteen albums and yet they never seem to be giving you that full-on 'Ranting Punk' schtick that can leave you with that feeling of "OK - WE GET IT!!"

Kicking off with 'The Day The Earth Stalled' they hit the ground running with a quick blast of beats and wailing guitar and follow that up with the instant head tapper of 'Only Rain'. I'm only at the third song - 'The Resist Stand' (best track for me ) and I'm smiling and thinking "Jeez, why the fuck did I put up with that watered down pop shit version of you know who??" -  Instant quality from the SoCal legends who still seem to be loving the blueprint they set out in 1980. They slow it down a bit for the next couple but the song 'Meeting Of The Minds' gets me reaching for the rewind button straight away. It seems like such a simple formula and they often get the 'one trick pony' tag but there's some great guitar work going on underneath the drums and layered vocals. Even something seemingly so simple has a lot going on if you strip it down and can be arsed to listen. 'Pride And The Pallor' is the best punk/folk song you'll hear this side of rock and will surely be a great track live (imagine Irish jig rock.......... if it doesn't exist, it should!!). 'Wrong Way Kids' follows it up and is a pretty standard affair but second best track of the album 'Meeting Of The Minds' chases it off the album to make you realise this is still delivering 3/4 of the way in. 'Where The Fun Is' is pretty much what The Offspring aim for and, although I hate comparing bands, you can't escape it throughout a lot of this album.

I guess it just proves how influential they've been to the new breed, who I guess are now old themselves? 'I Won't Say Anything' finishes the album and I'll be honest, I need to.....................it's cack. A little too polished and slow but that won't stop you pressing repeat on this album.

The last time I listened to Bad Religion with some intent was on the 1990 album 'Against The Grain' and, at the time, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains et al were starting to rule my life - my loss, they've realised nine albums since then!

You just know that they smiled throughout making this record and I'm telling you now, if you like any band in this genre, you will too.

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