 into the unknown is the second studio album by bad religion, which was released on november 30, 1983. the album marks a distinct departure from the band's previous album; instead of featuring hardcore punk, the album is characterized by slower tempos, use of electric organ and pianos, and a prog-influenced hard rock sound. into the unknown is the only bad religion album to feature paul dedona on bass and davy goldman on drums, as jay bentley and pete finestone returned to the band in 1986 and played bass and drums respectively on their subsequent albums. it is also the first of the six bad religion albums not to display their iconic font on the cover, and their only album to feature a track lasting more than five minutes. into the unknown proved to be the band's most controversial release; despite favorable reviews from music critics, it was a commercial failure upon initial release, and was characterized as a "misstep" by guitarist brett gurewitz. it was not reissued in any format until 2010, when it was issued on vinyl as part of the box set 30 years of bad religion. ==production== gurewitz commented on the album's production on the official bad religion website, stating that the album was quickly produced after the release of the band's debut, how could hell be any worse?, because the band didn't take itself seriously and didn't think it would last very long, despite the success of their debut and popularity on the underground music scene.http://www.badreligion.com/albums/2/into_the_unknown gurewitz said that "not much thought" was put into the album's production. drummer pete finestone and bass player jay bentley quit the band as the result of the change in musical style. bad religion hired producer thom wilson to collaborate with the band during the album's production. ==musical style and influences== gurewitz and the other band members were very much into progressive rock before getting into punk rock, and wanted to record an album reflecting a prog and avant-garde influence. the album is characterized by slower tempos and use of electric organ and piano-driven melody. ==reception==  because of the
1983_albums Bad_Religion_albums English-language_albums Epitaph_Records_albums