Bad Religion are often pigeonholed into the Skate Punk subgenre. To be fair, they transcended that movement musically. This is a compilation release by the group just as they were shifting record labels. Both critics and fans rated this release in a positive way. Still, how does it sound? Let’s find out.

I Want To Conquer The World begins this compilation with roaring shred guitars, Hardcore Punk style drums and some clear and awesome vocals. Instantly, this sounds like an excellent and awesome effort. This is not a million miles away from Blink-182, and it is a good political song about how one would change things for the better. A great start to this compilation and this sounds quite direct, yet fun listening. A nice cut from Bad Religion, worth your ears. The ending has some nice drumrolls, before concluding. Brilliant.

Do What You Want begins with heavy guitars, more pounding drums and some classic Punk music. A really punchy and awesome tune that has barely aged to this day, it sounds a lot like Green Day may have ripped off these sorts of songs at present. It’s over after a minute long.

You Are (The Government) launches into a slower number that makes musical sense for this style of music. It is a simple and provocative number of music to enjoy, and this is a great listening experience. The music is awesome and fantastic, and chanting galore is here. It ends after just over a minute, with loud and sustained guitars.

Modern Man launches into it quickly with some powerful and energetic tunes to listen to. Again this is very, very good and the music and melodies here are fantastic. This is a bit of a lyrical rant, but then again, this is not to be unexpected for this kind of music. In the second half is a ripping guitar solo that is played in a shred way, before the chorus resumes nicely. A very good and quite memorable song.

We’re Only Gonna Die launches straight into it with Ramones styled guitars and other intense sounds throughout, along with pounding drums as usual. A genuinely good listen, Bad Religion are musically talented. Near the midsection is a drum led tempo change and sounds that are very different. It then launches into a very Pop oriented sounding tune before this builds up back to the main fast section of this song. A brilliant and memorable effort from these guys, good job. Worth hearing for a short, two-minute-long piece of music.

The Answer begins with a drumroll and launches into a slower piece of music at hand. This tune gets going nicely and is a slower, more Pop and longer song to hear. It is a piece about injustice and inequality in the world today. Indeed, this is a good listen, although it is a little whiny here to listen to, especially given the lyrics. There is a melodic guitar solo in the middle of this song, which is different. Nonetheless, a good tune for what this is. The music sounds very great here, and is a good tune, despite the picture being painted lyrically. There are some nice harmonies towards the end as well. A good piece of music.

Flat Earth Society is a reference to the urban myth of the world being flat, not round. It launches quickly into a song that is a bit of a rant. Still, this is consistently great and memorable music to hear. “Lie, lie, lie,” is repeated here, and this is a quirky twist to this compilation. A great piece of music, with a twisted guitar solo in the second half, this is how Punk based music should sound. A great piece of music that is barely over two minutes in length, with a nice fade out. Excellent.

Against The Grain goes straight into a slightly slower number that is two minutes long. This sounds a little weaker than some of the cuts here earlier, but it still sounds amazingly good to listen to. A thoroughly great and awesome listening experience all the same, this is quite catchy, too. This is one of the best compilations one can pick out for a Punk based group. An enjoyable listen, once again. Worth your ears.

Generator launches straight into the song at hand, with rolling drum hits and provocative lyrics. Again, this is a consistently enjoyable listen, although this tune comes across as a little whiny, as before. There are some interesting gaps in the rhythm before this song launches into the second set of verses at hand. Nonetheless, this sounds great and works well musically. A great and interesting effort for people to enjoy. There are some discordant moments on this tune, but nothing too terrible sounding. Another good creation by Bad Religion. There are harmonies and guitar solos towards the end, which are pretty cool. A great listening experience from this compilation.

Anesthesia comes next, and the whole thing launches straight off the bat into an energetic and interesting piece of Punk rock. Again, this is a good tune to listen to and it is proof that Bad Religion had a lot of musical tricks up their sleeves, so to speak. The playing and singing are top-notch, and this tune is a good cut overall. Bad Religion obviously knew how to make some good and driven Punk music. Towards the end is a tempo change and breakdown that is quite cool, and the guitars and drums mesh nicely here. Another excellent listening experience, this is cool, all the way through to the fade out.

Suffer begins with some unusual guitars, rolling percussion and more socially aware vocals present. This is a shorter piece of music at under two minutes long. Again, this is simple, powerful and ridiculously good. A great and enjoyable tune to listen to, this sounds quite amazing for what it is. The guitar solo is really cool here. Another decent cut by Bad Religion.

Faith Alone is a long piece for Bad Religion at three and a half minutes long. It’s a good story that rails against religion, which is interesting. A long tale of musical explanation about the hypocrisy of religion, this song is refreshingly good and excellent for what it is. “Nobody could tell me what to do…” is sung here, proving that there is a genuine hypocrisy of religion out there. This quickly launches into a blistering guitar solo that does some great justice. This is a good number, particularly for those who have been let down by religious figures and the nature of their followers. Excellent from start to finish, and a great musical statement at hand. Nice to hear. It has repeated vocals at the end with a long fade out.

No Control launches back into the shorter and faster tunes present in this compilation. This is an impressive listening experience, and the whole tune is interesting and lively. Sure, it’s not singalong cheesy Pop/Rock music, but it is fast, energetic and furious Punk music. A really awesome listening experience that sounds cool, this is great music. Over before you know it.

21st Century (Digital Boy) begins with chugging guitars and pounding drums, launching into a song that is much more Pop oriented than previous songs before it. A great and interesting piece of music that looked (at the time) to the future of the world. This is a great music piece about the stupidity of people of the future, set to aggressive music. There is a great guitar solo in the second half of this song, which sounds amazing. A clever and interesting listening experience, this sounds very passionate and uplifting. Good listen.

Atomic Garden begins with some impressive drumming, loud overdriven guitars and enters into a strange and quirky listening experience. This is another direct and powerful tune that is worth hearing. The music here is equivalent to a musical punch in the face, and it does work extremely well. Fantastic music at hand, this is worth your ears. In the second half are some weird vocal samples that run along with the music. A good tune, once again, and worth hearing, this sounds extraordinarily cool. It ends abruptly.

No Direction launches straight into a slower and more moody sounding piece of music. It takes a while to get started here, but when the vocals enter, we have a really classic tune to listen to. A really awesome and great piece of music to hear, it just works very well. Worth hearing, this music is quite good. The music here isn’t as consistent as in previous songs, but it still retains its freshness and energy, to this very day. Good music to hear, this points to fans that Rock stars aren’t able to answer all their questions. It’s just music, after all. This ends with some interesting and sustained guitar riffs galore. Interesting stuff.

Automatic Man is much shorter at over a minute and a half long. This quickly launches into a very good Punk song that is a lot quicker. A really awesome and tremendous effort to listen to and enjoy, this sounds incredibly cool and driven musical listening. A lively tune to listen to, this music sounds incredibly cool and amazing for your Hardcore Punk needs. It finishes with sustained chords, again, before a surprise twist concludes this song. Nice.

Change Of Ideas begins with a kick drum, before launching right into a less than one minute long tune. This is a musical assault on the senses, and it does sound really excellent. A great and interesting tune to hear.

Sanity has a counted intro, before launching into another amazing sounding song. This piece of music gets going quickly enough and is a more underrated piece from Bad Religion. The lyrics deal with keeping one’s head above water and being sane in a world of mixed messages, so to speak. Nonetheless, another good and decent tune that sounds incredibly great. Worth it for a slower tune, this is a great musical statement. There is a weird guitar solo towards the end, and the whole thing sounds marvellous from beginning to end.

Walk Away launches into another rather whiny Punk tune that is fast, quick and powerful. A really awesome piece of music, this sounds lively and incredibly decent for what it is. The music at hand is simple, but enjoyable and musical enough to be enjoyed, especially for those with a short attention span. A good piece of melancholy Punk, before Green Day perfected it on their American Idiot album, this makes some good sense. Nice tune.

Best For You launches into a faster and very Ramones sounding number that is very listenable and catchy. This is perfect music for those who suffer from ADHD, it just sounds well delivered and amazing for what it is. A short, sharp and powerful tune to listen to. “Everybody knows what’s best for you!” is chanted throughout, over a large amount of wall-of-sound guitars, all the way to the crazy ending. Excellent listening.

Fuck Armageddon…This Is Hell is a live performance. It launches into a powerful and supercharged number to end this album. Great music and playing, this sounds very awesome indeed. Worth your ears? Definitely, especially if you dig live Punk music. It works tremendously well here, and the whole song is nicely played and is decent music. Great to hear that these guys could cut it live as well, it is definitely worth your ears. A good finish to an interesting compilation by Bad Religion. It ends with a gradual fade out.

Bad Religion are proof that Punk music, or more specifically, Hardcore Punk music, can sound great. These guys obviously made an impressive retrospective compilation that spanned their early years as a group. It’s not absolutely perfect but for the most part, this is indeed, enjoyable. Should you listen to this compilation? Definitely, especially if you love stuff like the Dead Kennedys or any music from the Hardcore Punk genre. A great slice of history.

Very interesting and punchy music.

8/10