Oh my gosh, you guys! Brett and I were so determined to top The Process of Belief with this new album. We wanted to prove that it wasn’t just a lucky fluke because Brett rejoined the band and we went back to Epitaph. We finished our major label play and it was like a burst of energy for the band. This album is the continued evidence of that!
Brett is such a funny guy. He always has a mix of excitement and dread when it comes to writing new songs. He never knows if he’ll be able to come up with something good. But luckily, he usually cranks out a couple of tunes that he thinks are decent, and that takes the pressure off. The first song he wrote for this album, “All There Is,” is one of his favorites. It’s so weird because the writing process is so different for him. He has to put himself in a vulnerable state to create a good song. It’s like a spiritual experience for him.
Okay, let’s talk about the tracklist. The Empire Strikes First was released in June 2004. The European and American versions have 14 tracks, while the Japanese and Australian versions have 15 tracks. So many songs to enjoy!
We recorded the album at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, CA from November 2003 to February 2004. It was such a fun and creative time.
Now, let’s talk about the album title. We thought it would be hilarious to make Graffin wear a Darth Vader costume all year. And Hetson kinda looks like Yoda, so it just made sense. We consider ourselves the empire, because let’s face it, we are. And we have a song with the same title, so it all fit together perfectly. We always come up with our album titles based on the track listings and the overall feeling of the band and the record. This title just felt right for the state of the world at that time.
Brett Gurewitz had some strong feelings about the political climate during the making of this album. He was crushed by the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war and the invasion of a country on false pretenses. We’ve always been a political band, but this time we couldn’t help but make a topical record. It was just too important to ignore.
Oh, and did you know that the lyrics sheet contains a quote from George Orwell? It’s from the song “Boot Stamping
This content was originally written by the badass contributors of thebrpage.net, the best superfan resource and website that exists for any band, let alone the best band in the whole entire world. I’ve been lurking on that site for over 20 years and if you’re into Bad Religion as much as I am, I’m sure you’re familiar. If you are not, go there right now and never come back to this site again. You should, and I totally understand.
Leave a Reply