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New Maps of Hell

EMAILPRINTby Bad Religion

Bad Religion reviews
69
7.9 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 11 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 23 votes
Read user comments
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Album Info

Label: Epitaph

Release Date: 09 July 2007

Discs: 1 disc

Genre(s): Punk, Rock

Summary

The hardcore, often political rockers return with their 14th studio album.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80

All Music Guide

It finds that the guys don't just still have it, but they sound goddamn rejuvenated, bristling with electric energy and undeniable fervor.

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80

Amazon.com

New Maps is a terrific sounding record; at least two-thirds of it begs many repeated listens.

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75

The Phoenix

'New Dark Ages,' with its layered background harmonies, wall-of-sound instrumentation, and quietly propulsive drumming, is a 27-year career in a nutshell.

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75

The Onion (A.V. Club)

The venerable outfit opens New Maps Of Hell, its 14th full-length, with a 58-second song inexplicably dubbed "52 Seconds"—and it's a ravenous blast of hardcore that swipes a riff from Black Flag's "Rise Above" before leading into tracks that range from anemic (the plodding "Honest Goodbye") to anthemic ("Fields Of Mars," one of the best songs the band has recorded in ages).

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70

Playlouder

The album is closer to the thrash end of their style then the folk, and the music reflects the anger in the songs brilliantly.

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70

PopMatters

There’s a heavy metal fence around much of New Maps of Hell that does sometimes feel new, or at least like revitalization of old habits.

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60

Spin

The tagets haven't changed much, and Bad Religion still hits them hard. [Aug 2007, p.98]

60

NOW Magazine

On Maps, BR breathe new life into their formula--short, fast and melodic Cali skate-punk ditties led by the always politically and socially aware growlings of lead singer Greg Graffin.

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60

Q Magazine

It's business as usual for Bad Religion, the US punk rock stalwarts recently restored to full power with the return of guitarist Brett Gurewitz. [Sep 2007, p.100]

40

Sputnikmusic

It does nothing to distinguish itself from other BR releases and some of the premier punk albums released in the past few years, but it also can immediately trump most of the stuff being put out these days on the virtue of BR's tight and likable style.

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40

The Guardian

There's plenty of the driving, impassioned melodic hardcore that Bad Religion pretty much invented, but there is very little on this record to separate them from the vapid snowboard-video pop-punk that is their unfortunate legacy.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

James D. gave it a9:
superlative; this album is immensely enjoyable. No band writes catchier punk songs than bad religion. Oh, and their drummer, Brooks Wackerman, is excellent.

Coy C. gave it a9:
This is definitely one of their best albums. It becomes harder to define a favorite due to the high quality of all their records. One of the reviews said it best... they sound rejuvenated. It's back to their old wonderful form.

James P. gave it a10:
This is what I have come to expect from the worlds foremost authority on inteligent punk. Only a great album like so many before it. Bravo.

Kez M gave it an8:
Awesome Album and still going strong after many years.

Jon gave it a7:
Not their best album by any stretch of the imagination. However it's still a lot better than most of the other rubbish being churned out in this genre of music.

Ben S. gave it a9:
Great Album. The last five songs could have been a little better.

Chris W. gave it an8:
Love this band, havent lost any steam since they started, but in some songs you really get the feeling that they overedited the thing... they lose some of the rawness of thier previous releases.

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