Stranger Than Fiction (Bad Religion album)
Stranger than Fiction is the eighth full-length studio album by American punk rock band Bad Religion, released in 1994. It was a major breakthrough for Bad Religion, being certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America and becoming the band's first album to chart on the "Billboard" 200, peaking at 87. Release. "Stranger Than Fiction" was their first album released on the major label Atlantic Records (although that label re-released the previous album, "Recipe for Hate"), and also its last release with guitarist Brett Gurewitz, who left just prior to  the album's 1994-1995 world tour, only to return to the band seven years later. On tour, Gurewitz was replaced by Brian Baker, who would stay with the band permanently. With sales continuing years after its release, "Stranger Than Fiction" is one of Bad Religion's most successful albums, featuring two of their well-known hit singles, "Infected" (released on January 6, 1995) and the re-recorded version of "21st Century (Digital Boy)", first appeared on Against the Grain. Both songs earned airplay on MTV and radio stations, such as KROQ. The album included another hit single, "Stranger Than  Fiction", though the last one, "Incomplete", failed to make any national chart. The album also includes fan favorites, "Leave Mine To Me", "Tiny Voices", "The Handshake", and "Better Off Dead." As of today, "Stranger Than Fiction" remains the only Bad Religion record to obtain gold status in the United States and Canada. The album was re-released by Epitaph Records on September 15, 2008. In 2009, Rhino Records released a colored vinyl to coincide with this album's 15th anniversary. Reception. "Stranger Than Fiction" was released on September 6, 1994 and became the first Bad Religion album distributed via Atlantic  Records. On September 24 of that year, the album peaked at number 87 on the "Billboard" 200 album chart, and on March 4, 1998, also became Bad Religion's first (and only) album to be certified gold in the United States. AllMusic's Jack Rabid praised this album as a "rare case of selling out in reverse" and songs such as "Leave Mine to Me", "Individual", "Tiny Voices" and "Marked", calling them "all uptempo barnburners, pulverizing in their rapid passion". He also criticizes "'Infected' and 'Television'" as "the two least effective songs of their 15 years, the former a third -rate 'Sanity'", referring to the seventh track on 1989's "No Control". In November 2011, "Stranger Than Fiction" was ranked number one on "Guitar World" magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994, with The Offspring's "Smash" in second place and Weezer's "Weezer" in third place. Loudwire placed "Stranger Than Fiction" at No. 9 on its "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1994" list. In July 2014, "Stranger Than Fiction" was featured on "Guitar World" magazine's "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list. Re-releases. "Stranger Than Fiction" was re-released several times, with  different labels, covers and formats in different countries (see the table below). Charts. Year-end charts. Singles - Billboard (North America) References. Citations Sources