Tested

Tested is the first official live album by punk rock band Bad Religion. It was recorded in the USA, Canada, Germany, Estonia, Denmark, Italy and Austria, in 1996, and released in 1997. It is Bad Religion's second live album. Instead of using crowd microphones and mobile studios like most live albums, the band tapped the inputs, for a result that portrays Bad Religion's live sound without crowd noise. It also includes three new songs; "Dream of Unity," "It's Reciprocal," and the title track.

Background
Bad Religion's US label, Atlantic, turned down releasing Tested; however, the band's German label, Sony, agreed to release the album in Europe and the rest of the world through its imprints Dragnet and Epic. The album was released in January 1997 in Australia, followed by a European release in February. In March, it was available as import-only in the US.

"Dream of Unity" was released as a single in Germany in 1997.

In 2008, Tested was reissued in Europe by Epitaph.

Critical reception
Dave Thompson, in Alternative Rock, wrote: "Disconcerting the first listen, energizing thereafter, few live albums have been this brave."

In his review for AllMusic, Jack Rabid called the album "a bit of a letdown." He felt that the album lacks a "you are there" feel and that the overall sound is "merely average." He concluded, "Nonetheless, with a band this top-notch, even such a merely passable, perfectly clear recording demonstrates their awesome punk prowess enough (especially that of singer Graffin, whose phenomenal pipes soar all over this) to make Tested a large pleasure just the same." Rabid said of the three new studio tracks: "Dream of Unity" is uncharacteristically half-baked and slightly dull, but both "Tested" and "It's Reciprocal" burn the laser off the player."

Personnel
Adapted from the album liner notes.


 * Bad Religion
 * Greg Graffin – vocals
 * Brian Baker – guitar, backing vocals
 * Greg Hetson – guitar
 * Jay Bentley – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Bobby Schayer – drums
 * Technical
 * Bad Religion – production, recording, mixing, concept
 * Ronnie Kimball – production, mixing
 * George Marino – mastering
 * Steve Raskin – art direction, design
 * ION Design – art direction, design, photography
 * Peter Hayes – cover stamp, flag stamp
 * Jerry Mahoney – backdrop
 * John Allan – photography
 * Thorsten Martin-Edingshaus – photography
 * Olaf Heine – photography
 * Rob Myers – photography

Notes and trivia

 * The songs "Tested", "Dream of Unity" and "It's Reciprocal" are previously unreleased studio tracks.
 * The live songs were recorded in Berlin (Germany), Rome (Italy), Roskilde (Denmark), Pittsburgh (PA, USA), Loreley (Germany), Melbourne (FL, USA), Toronto (Ontario, Canada), Dortmund (Germany), Detroit (MI, USA), Berlin (Germany), New York (NY, USA), Ithaca (NY, USA), Raleigh (NC, USA), Munich (Germany), Tallinn (Estonia), Baltimore (MD, USA), Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada), Chicago (IL, USA), San Francisco (CA, USA), Jacksonville (FL, USA) and Montreal (Quebec, Canada)
 * The disc has the phrase "No Bad Religion song can make your live complete" printed on it - a slightly modified quote from the song No Direction, in which the lyric is “life” instead of “live”.