5 Returning Bands That Failed (And 5 That Nailed Their Comeback)

Another product of the California punk scene, Bad Religion had the DIY aesthetic from day one, forming out of high school and playing any and every show they could get their hands on, they would release their debut self-titled EP in 1981, on their own label Epitaph.

With their politically-driven brand of hardcore earning a positive reputation, the band released their debut album How Could Hell Be Any Worse? in 1982. And then the weird happens.

The follow-up, Into the Unknown, is a keyboard-backed prog rock album that, unsurprisingly, alienated the band's core fanbase. To say it was against the grain of their reputation would be an understatement and they would disband shortly after.

Following a couple of tentative reunions, Bad Religion returned in full in 1986 with all members housing a fresh outlook and drive for the band. Now a more cohesive unit, Bad Religion would release landmark album Suffer in 1988 and the rest is history.

Bad Religion would become one of the most important bands in punk with album seventeen due in 2018 and Epitaph has hosted some of the biggest names in rock, including Green Day, Converge, Parkway Drive, Refused and Every Time I Die.