10 Rock Bands That Saved Their Careers With One Album

Anyone who's going through Bad Religion's back catalog chronologically is definitely going to be in for a rough ride in the early days of the band. Though their debut might be one of the greatest debut records in the history of punk, their experimentation with prog on Into the Unknown was enough to kill any band, with half of them quitting in protest and fans not being receptive to the shift either. When everyone came back on board though, it felt like we were watching them climb the mountain all over again on Suffer.

Standing at just less than a half hour, this is the proper introduction to Bad Religion that we needed, as Greg Graffin seethes with anger with pointed social commentary throughout every single song. All of those keyboards are out the window this time around, as Brett Burewitz dusts off his electric guitar and crafts riffs that are designed to go for the throat on songs like You Are the Government.

Going back and listening to those first records, it almost feels like the prototype for what Bad Religion was going to be. This was the record that really capitalized on that promise though, giving us the same energy as hardcore punk with a close attention to melody that no one else was working with at the time. Into the Unknown may have been of the biggest sophomore slumps in recorded history, but the songs on Suffer are good enough to practically wipe the taste of prog rock out of everyone's mouth.