Bad Religion
"TheProcess of Belief"
(Epitaph Records)

January 2002 marked the release of Bad Religion's "The Process of Belief", the punk veterans' 12th studio album, and first release since re-uniting with ex-guitarist/infamous Epitaph founder/post-rehab Mr. Brett Gurewitz. The band had been separated from Mr. Brett and Epitaph since 1994's Stranger than Fiction album, and had put out only marginal releases since the splitting, minus 1998's "No Substance", which was by far their most produced/pop-experimental album to date (at least since "Recipe for Hat"e), which failed commercially put rocked irrespectively. "The Process of Belief" is a combined effort of both Gurewitz, and BR frontman Greg Graffin, and the collaboration amounts to 14 tracks of guitar heavy, pounding-fast, super-smooth punk rock reminiscent of the band's previous staple albums "Against the Grain" and "Generator". The straightforward/no-nonsense song structures have Mr. Brett written all over them, and Graffin has again laid down the powerful range present on their previous Epitaph releases, and has included some harmony and melody that have become common on BR albums throughout their 3-album-stay on Atlantic Records. Musically, the band has not crossed any boundaries that they have not crossed before, but there is definitely a pleasure felt in hearing the same fast, raw, honest and melodic sounds of Bad Religion that set the stage for west coast punk in the late 80's, and simultaneously reminded listeners that punk rock could actually be played with angst and harmony at the same time. Graffin's scientific lyrics are as eloquent as ever, and poetically venture from topics of emotional turmoil, to the witty/Darwinist based lyrics that have defined his work in the past. The sixth track "Materialist" pounds violently with speed from new drummer Brooks Wackerman (ex-Vandals/Suicidal Tendencies) and opens with a Graffin patented lyrical styling "You're obsessed and distressed 'cuz you cant make any sense of the ludicrous nonsense and incipient senescense that will deem your common sense useless, this aint no recess." "Prove It", the second track on the album confronts religion (one of the Graffin's much loved past times, besides Taxonomy) and hollers "There's no such thing as hell, but you cant make it if you try, there might come a day when emotion can be quantified but as of now there is no proof necessary, no proof necessary, its only in your mind." Other songs that stand out are "Can't Stop It," a spastic 1 minute BR convulsion, "Broken," an acoustic-accompanied love ballad, and "Epiphany," an anthemic rock explosion with a powerful yet bleak chorus chanting "all promises become a lie, all that's benign corrupts in time, the fallacy of epiphany." All in all, "The Process of Belief" contains no surprises, but pounds out 14 solid punk tunes in the way Bad Religion has proven they love to do it. This band has played punk rock honestly for the entirety of my waking life, and I am a believer. Buy this, even if you don't have all of the band's other Epitaph releases, and buy a dictionary right after.

------kory