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Suffer is the third full-length album (and fifth recording overall) by the American punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on September 8, 1988.[1] It was their first album featuring the original line-up since their previous break-up. It is also the band's first official studio album recorded with second guitarist Greg Hetson (although he contributed one track on How Could Hell Be Any Worse? and also played on the Back to the Known EP). Like their albums up to Generator, Suffer was also remastered on April 6, 2004. The original release is now out of print.
Although Suffer was not charted in Billboard, it is considered by many to be one of the best punk albums of the 1980s, as well as its follow-up No Control. After its release, Suffer quickly became Epitaph Records best seller and was the label's best-selling third album for a number of years, until the release of The Offspring's 1994 highly acclaimed album Smash. A plethora of third-wave punk bands cite this album as a major inspiration; NOFX's Fat Mike has called it "the record that changed everything."
In 2006, Suffer was ranked as the top punk album of 1988 on Sputnikmusic.[2] The album was also named the 99th most influential rock album of all time by Kerrang! magazine.
[edit] Album cover
The distictive and slightly disturbing album cover features a photograph of a (possibly homeless) teenager on fire wearing a t-shirt of Bad Religion's crossbuster logo, designed by Jerry Mahoney.
[edit] Reception
- Alternative Press (3/02, p.96) - Included in AP's "Essential Punk Influences '02 Style" - "...Their definitive album....they'd never eclipse this fireball of creative energy."
- Kerrang! (p.51) - "[With] sonorous, soaring vocal hooks. The melding of power and melody proved a statement of absolute power."
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Release History
[edit] Notes/Trivia
- The opening line of track 4, "When?", is "I've seen a lot of things in 5 years". Considering that this album was released in 1988, five years would make it the year 1983, which coincidently marked the release of their previous full-length studio album Into the Unknown.
- In a fan poll, "Do What You Want" was cited as one of the best Bad Religion songs of all time, along with "American Jesus" and "Along The Way."
- Rancid's Tim Armstrong has said that "What Can You Do?" is his favorite Bad Religion track.
- In 2001, NOFX released an EP called Surfer, with the cover art a parody/tribute to the cover art for Suffer.
- Suffer (along with No Control) is also referenced in the song "21st Century (Digital Boy)" (from 1990's Against the Grain and 1994's Stranger Than Fiction), when frontman Greg Graffin sings "tried to tell you about no control, but now I really don't know, and then you told me how bad you had to suffer, is that really all you have to offer".
[edit] Personnel
[edit] Accolades
The information regarding accolades attributed to Suffer is adapted from AcclaimedMusic.net.[3]
| Publication |
Country |
Accolade |
Year |
Rank |
| Soundi |
Finland |
The 50 Best Albums of All Time + Top 10 by Decade |
1995 |
35 |
| Rock Hard |
Germany |
Top 300 Albums |
2001 |
222 |
[edit] References
