The Empire Strikes First
Album by Bad Religion
Released	June 8, 2004
Recorded	studio A at Sound City in Los Angeles from November 2003 to February 2004
Genre	Punk rock
Length	39:42
Label	Epitaph Records
Producer(s)	Brett Gurewitz and Greg Graffin
Professional reviews
All Music Guide (3/5) link Rate Your Music (4/5) link Rolling Stone (3/5) link
Bad Religion chronology
Punk Rock Songs (2002) The Empire Strikes First (2004)

The Empire Strikes First is an album by Bad Religion released on June 8, 2004. The first single from the album, "Los Angeles Is Burning", reached #40 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album itself reached #40 on the Billboard 200. The title is a reference to the new Bush doctrine of preemptive war, and a play on the name of the popular Star Wars movie The Empire Strikes Back. Although most of the album is related to the war in Iraq, the band also touches on familiar topics like religion, the environment, and the media on the hit song "Los Angeles Is Burning." The album marked the second in a streak of good albums that began when Brett Gurewitz rejoined the band in 2002. This work is copyrighted. ... An album is a collection of related audio tracks, released together commercially in an audio format to the public. ... Bad Religion is an influential punk rock band known for poignant, erudite lyrics, and biting social commentary. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... This article is about the largest city in California. ... Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up February in Wiktionary, the free dictionary February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... A music genre is a category (or genre) of pieces of music that share a certain style or basic musical language (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... A record label is a brand created by companies that specialize in producing, manufacturing, distributing and promoting audio and sometimes video recordings (especially music videos), on various formats including compact discs, LPs, DVD-Audio, SACDs, and cassettes. ... Epitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the performers, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Brett Gurewitz (aka: Mr. ... Greg Graffin Dr. Gregory Walter Graffin III (born Saturday, November 6, 1964 in Racine, Wisconsin), better known as Greg Graffin, is the singer and founder of the punk rock band Bad Religion. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide. ... Rate Your Music is a metadata database where musical albums, EPs, singles and bootlegs are rated and reviewed by users. ... The Rolling Stone logo, designed by Rick Griffin. ... Bad Religion is an influential punk rock band known for poignant, erudite lyrics, and biting social commentary. ... Punk Rock Songs is a compilation album by Bad Religion. ... Bad Religion is an influential punk rock band known for poignant, erudite lyrics, and biting social commentary. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... The Modern Rock Tracks chart is a music chart that has appeared in Billboard magazine since the early 1980s. ... The Billboard 200 is a listing of the 200 highest selling music albums in the United States, published weekly in Billboard magazine. ... The Bush Doctrine refers to the set of revised foreign policies adopted by the President of the United States George W. Bush in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Preventive war. ... For the Cusco album, see 2002 (album). ...

Track listing

1. "Overture" 1:09
2. "Sinister Rouge" 1:53
3. "Social Suicide" 1:35
4. "Atheist Peace" 1:57
5. "All There Is" 2:57
6. "Los Angeles Is Burning" 3:23
7. "Let Them Eat War" 2:57
8. "God's Love" 2:32
9. "To Another Abyss" 4:07
10. "The Quickening" 2:19
11. "The Empire Strikes First" 3:23
12. "Beyond Electric Dreams" 4:02
13. "Boot Stamping On A Human Face Forever" 3:49
14. "Live Again (The Fall Of Man)" 3:35

Personnel

• Greg Graffin - vocals
• Brett Gurewitz - guitar
• Brian Baker - guitar
• Greg Hetson - guitar
• Jay Bentley - bass guitar
• Brooks Wackerman - drums

• David Bragger - violin on “Atheist Peace”
• Mike Campbell - guitar on “Los Angeles is Burning”
• Sage Francis - guest vocals on “Let Them Eat War”
• John Ginty - Hammond B-3 on “Los Angeles is Burning”
• Atticus Ross - programming
• Leopold Ross - Sonic Alienator on “Beyond Electric Dreams”
• Claude Sarne - goth choir soprano on “Sinister Rouge”

Greg Graffin Dr. Gregory Walter Graffin III (born Saturday, November 6, 1964 in Racine, Wisconsin), better known as Greg Graffin, is the singer and founder of the punk rock band Bad Religion. ... Brett Gurewitz (aka: Mr. ... Brian Baker was one of the founding members of the seminal hardcore punk rock band Minor Threat. ... Greg Hetson, playing guitar at a concert. ... Jay Bentley (born June 6, 1964) is the bassist of Bad Religion. ... Brooks Wackerman (born Tuesday, February 15, 1977) is the newset drummer for Bad Religion and the younger brother of Chad Wackerman (a session drummer who once played with Frank Zappa). ... Michael (Mike) Campbell (born February 1, 1950 in Panama City, Florida) is a guitarist and record producer, best known for his work with Tom Petty. ... Sage Francis, September 12th, 2005 Paul Sage Francis (born ca. ... Atticus Ross contributed drums and programming to the trip-hop outfit 12 Rounds. ...

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America) An example of a Billboard Magazine. ...

Singles - Billboard (North America)

External links

• The Empire Strikes First lyrics