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Bad Religion | The Process Of Belief

The sonic impact of nuclear fusion
CD, Epitaph

Tekst: Martÿn ter Haar

Publicatiedatum: 28 januari 2002

Nuclear fusion. E=mc²: when nuclei are united a small quantity of mass is converted into an enormous amount of energy. So when Greg Graffin and Brett Gurewitz start writing songs together again on 'The Process Of Belief' the resulting blast is so powerful that would-be contenders like Pennywise and The Offspring are evaporated within nanoseconds of opening track 'Supersonic'. Graffin's fear that he is "outstripped by the pace of cultural change" is ungrounded, as 'The Process Of Belief' will have the half life of plutonium. Drum prodigy Brooks Wackerman (ex-Suicidal Tendencies) acts as the catalyst, pushing the punk veterans to speeds they have not reached since 1989. The total playing time of 'Supersonic', 'Prove It' and 'Can't Stop It', the albums first 3 tracks, is just over 4 minutes! In that time Greg Graffin has used more words and tackled more important subjects in an intelligent way than most bands in their entire career. And all this information is wrapped in golden melodies. Just when you start to think the good old days of albums like 'Against The Grain' have returned along comes 'Broken'. A combination of the power of punk with Beatles level pop-sophistication, this song shows that Bad Religion are not just back in old form; they have progressed beyond it, not only musically, but also lyrically. The show off vocabulary is gone, giving more clarity to the lyrics, but without losing depth.
The title 'The Process Of Belief' suggests another very anti-religious album from this band, which is named Bad Religion for a reason. Instead of that songs like 'Destined For Nothing' and especially 'Materialist' (which is about the philosophical believe that there is just what we experience there is and has nothing to do with being in love with goods) are more pro-atheism. Another minor change is the song 'Kyoto Now!': usually Graffin does not deal with such specific subjects in his lyrics, but apparently Dubya, Cheney and their friends in the energy industry have really pissed him off.
What really counts in the end though is the flood of catchy hooks, brilliant melodies and small twists that make that 'The Process Of Belief' can already be labeled "Comeback Of The Year". Brett Gurewitz has said he won't be able to play all shows, because his job as Epitaph head-honcho takes too much time. As he has just reduced about half of his label's roster to insignificance, that problem could be solved in no time.

http://www.kindamuzik.net/recensie/bad-religion/the-process-of-belief/1082/
Meer Bad Religion op KindaMuzik: http://www.kindamuzik.net/artiest/bad-religion