True North

True North is the sixteenth studio album by the California punk rock band Bad Religion, which was released on January 22, 2013. After touring in support of their previous album The Dissent of Man (2010), Bad Religion began writing new material for an album that was planned for release in 2012. During their 2011 tour, frontman Greg Graffin stated that Bad Religion would make "one more album and then all join the navy, do honest work", which led to speculation that they were breaking up, although this turned out not to be the case. The recording sessions took place in July and August 2012 at Joe's House of Compression, a studio owned by Joe Barresi, who produced the album. True North was met with positive reviews upon release, and peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, becoming Bad Religion's first album to crack the top 20 and their highest ever peak on that chart in their career. This is the band's last album with guitarist Greg Hetson and drummer Brooks Wackerman, who left the band in April 2013 and October 2015, respectively. Background Bad Religion released their 15th studio album The Dissent of Man on September 28, 2010, via Epitaph Records. In 2011, they went on tour with American punk band Rise Against, who were promoting their new LP Endgame. While on tour with Rise Against, vocalist Greg Graffin told The Washington Examiner that he did not know when the band would release a new album, saying, "It's all very punk just like it's always been. We will record when we have enough songs. For us, it just kind of happens." During a show in Boston, Graffin told the audience that "after this year you probably won't be seeing much more of us. We're going to try one more album and then all join the navy, do honest work." This led to rumors that Bad Religion was planning on disbanding after their next album. Graffin dismissed the rumors, telling Billboard in 2013, "I always joke when I'm onstage, and sometimes my dry sense of humor doesn't translate with people who are in the audience." In an interview at the KROQ Weenie Roast on June 4, 2011, Graffin stated that Bad Religion was planning to record and release their sixteenth studio album in 2012, while bassist Jay Bentley mentioned an early 2012 timeframe for going back into the studio in an interview at Live 105's BFD festival, which took place on the day after the Weenie Roast.