The first proper Bad Brains studio album in over a decade, Build A Nation, is now scheduled to arrive in stores on June 26, 2007 on Megaforce Records. The album features all the original members of the group: HR, Darryl Jenifer, Dr. Know and Earl Hudson.
Produced by long time fan, Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys, Build A Nation is a return to form for the band that helped define American Punk and Hardcore music. It also represents the first studio album, outside Beastie Boys albums, to be recorded at the Beastie Boys’ Oscilloscope laboratories and studio compound in New York City. "This album started in my studio with primal, classic Bad Brains intentions,” commented bassist Darryl Jenifer. "I told Adam I was thinking about a new Brains’ record, then Adam said ‘Word! You should let me produce that shit, son! I’ll smoke those other cats that tried to produce y’all. I’ll make you sound real!’ I said ‘Word!’ And the rest is history,” continued Jenifer. “Adam took it in a direction that captured the S/T vibe, but with an honest, modern touch.”
“The Brains are one of most powerful and unique bands in the world,” stated Adam Yauch. “They have been a huge influence on me, and it was an honor to work with them on this record."
Considered by many to be the "holy grail" of punk rock, the Bad Brains iconic legacy is best defined by their frenetic and legendary live shows. They are one of the definitive American punk groups who garner the same respect as the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, The Clash, and The Ramones. They brought a new dimension to music by melding punk and reggae into an innovative style that has yet-to-be copied. Build A Nation returns the band to their early roots with a raw, analog-driven chaotic album.
"The thing about a lot of punk is the feeling that bands have is of apathy and hopelessness. Whereas Bad Brains lyrical content had a lot of hope in it,” commented Billy Joe Armstrong of Green Day.
A Bad Brains worldwide tour will commence around the release, including several major festival appearances both in the USA and Europe. Sasquatch Festival on May 27 will see both Bad Brains and Beastie Boys take the stage. Details will be announced shortly.
