Bad Religion – The Process Of Belief
(Epitaph)

You can say what you want about Bad Religion’s string of releases on Atlantic Records, but keep it to yourself, because I happen to enjoy them quite a bit. The band’s recent records may not have the classic anthems that records like Suffer and No Control have, but the new stuff is not really all that far removed either. For the most part, if you like one Bad Religion album, I don’t see what would stop you from liking them all. I will say, however, that their last album The New America, was a low point in their career (if such a thing is possible for Bad Religion). The music was starting to lose its edge, and lyrically, the well seemed to be running a bit dry.

It was evident that the band needed to shake things up a bit to prevent stagnation, and this is precisely what they have done with their 11th full-length album (their 7th on Epitaph), entitled The Process Of Belief. I’m not going to say they have “rediscovered their roots”, because, well, I don’t think they ever strayed too far from them. It’s true that there are number of shorter, aggressive songs on the new album that set a frantic pace from the start and give the impression that the band really has something to prove this time around. However, there are also some slower sing-alongs that emerge as the album progresses; they are equally good, but more reminiscent of the newer Bad Religion style.

All of Bad Religion’s vocal trademarks are back in full force on The Process Of Belief; from the harmonizing “oozin-aah’s” to Graffin’s exclamations of “yeah-hey!”, an avid Bad Religion listener will experience deja-vu more than once during the course of the record. The lyrical content is also pretty much what you’d expect from Bad Religion, although it sounds like Graffin may have misplaced his thesaurus this time around. There are songs about the overwhelming pace of cultural change (Supersonic), environmental concerns (Kyoto Now!), and of course, plenty of discourse on religion (Materialist, Epiphany, Destined For Nothing). As a punk rock band, they are not interested in overtly political preachings, rather they are more interested in providing philosophical reflections about human nature.

The big story behind the recording of The Process Of Belief is the band’s reunion with guitarist/songwriter Brett Gurewitz (who also just happens to be the owner of Epitaph Records… how convenient). Mr. Brett’s presence has clearly injected some life back into the music, and his familiar guitar noodling is particularly evident on such songs as Epiphany and The Lie. Of course, the return of Gurewitz has also left the band with 3 (count em –3) guitar players, which, as far as three-chord punk rock bands go, is a bit of overkill, not that it’s all that noticeable in the music itself. One thing a lot of people also seem to be overlooking is that Bad Religion are now without their former drummer Bobby Schayer, who was an integral part of the band’s precise rhythm section. He has been succeeded by Brooks Wackerman, who has drummed with Suicidal Tendencies, The Vandals and even Danny Elfman in the past, and although he does a reasonable job here, it still sounds like something is missing.

While I’m sure many people will be hailing The Process Of Belief as the punk rock album of the year, (it may well be), I don’t see why everyone is so blown away by it. This isn’t anything we haven’t heard before. As far as I’m concerned, The Process Of Belief is just another solid Bad Religion record, and really, what’s so unexpected about that?– Sean