Bad Religion release reimagined version of “Faith Alone”

LA punk rock legends Bad Religion have released a reworked version of their track “Faith Alone,” which initially appeared on the act’s 1990 album, ‘Against the Grain.’ Stream it below.

Here’s more info via today’s announcement:

The re-recording uses an uncharacteristic orchestral arrangement to further accentuate the song’s remarkably relevant lyrics. It is a philosophy Bad Religion have extolled since their very formation and has inspired songs like “The Answer,” “Atheist Peace,” and “American Jesus” that rail against religious hypocrisy and anti-intellectualism.

While the original “Faith Alone” was delivered as a propulsive guitar fueled punk track on the band’s album Against The Grain, the new interpretation begins with singer and co-songwriter Greg Graffin’s plaintive vocals accompanied on acoustic piano, before building to an unabashedly symphonic crescendo complete with sophisticated string arrangement. The result is a startling sonic departure from the band’s patented melodic punk sound and only serves to emphasize the song’s emotional power and intensely relevant message that, in times like these, “faith alone won’t sustain us anymore.

Greg Graffin explains further:

I have always written songs on piano. Some of our earliest songs were written on my mom’s piano. I’ve been home a lot and so I started recording a bunch of our songs that way. Brett (Gurewitz) thought ‘Faith Alone’ was particularly relevant for this moment. For me, it exemplifies what’s special about the band, which is that we write songs that go to the spiritual and intellectual aspects of human existence.

I think the message of ‘Faith Alone’ really resonates with everything that’s happening right now. Racial injustice, Trump, the COVID pandemic, the rejection of science, none of these things can be solved by burying our heads in the sand. We’ve always believed problems can be solved through reason and action, not faith and prayer. It’s what we’ve been writing about since the band started.”

Stream “Faith Alone”: