No Control

The remastering for this 2004 version of Bad Religion's 1989 LP greatly amplifies the album's volume. It might also strip away some reverb from the instrumentation, but the latter observation is mostly theoretical, as this new No Control really just sounds louder. This is welcome, as it makes the band sound that much more direct on principal cuts like "I Want to Conquer the World," "Automatic Man," the aggressive title track, and "Progress." Suffer had already wound the meter on Bad Religion's Cali hardcore even tighter -- No Control simply and forcefully continued the shift, delivering a pummel of melodic songwriting made sharp by Greg Graffin's populist cynicism and the stinging barbs of a twin-guitar strike.