Back to the Known
1985 EP by Bad Religion
Back to the Known is the second EP released by American punk rock band Bad Religion. The name of the EP is a reference to the band abandoning the progressive rock influences of its previous album, 1983's Into the Unknown, and returning to its punk roots.
The album features a re-recording of "Bad Religion", a song from their 1981 self-titled EP. and the fan favorite "Along The Way", which is a staple of their live shows today. During a live show in the mid 1980s, they played the song twice in a row at a sped-up pace the second time.
History
Frontman Greg Graffin partially brought Bad Religion back together in 1984 and hired two new members, Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson (who would remain with the band until 2013) and bassist Tim Gallegos. Drummer Pete Finestone (who left in 1982) also rejoined during this time. The new line-up recorded a new EP, which had only five songs, and was just over ten minutes long. It was originally released in a 12" format, with only one side of the vinyl containing all five tracks. The A-side contained no music or sound of any kind and was mirror-smooth. It was re-released as part of the 1991 compilation '80-'85, and again remastered for the 2004 reissue, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Back to the Known” is 1985 EP by Bad Religion. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Back, Known and Religion, not as a finished interpretation.
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The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2181546. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1983, 1981, 1984 and 2013.
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This entry incorporates text from “Back to the Known” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.