Zac Martin | Copy Editor

2/01/02

Bad Religion comes back home with a reunion and a new album.

Several years after their final major-label release fell flat both critically and with fans, Bad Religion has reenlisted founding father/guitarist/songwriter Brett Gurewitz and rejoined the ranks of Mr. Brett’s label Epitaph.

The album, titled "The Process of Belief," is a spiritual return to such classic albums as "Suffer" and "Against the Grain," while the sound shows a ton of growth and evolution. The time spent on Atlantic was not a complete loss as the harmonies and melodies singer/songwriter Greg Graffin experimented with there have filtered back into this latest offering, producing a more powerful vocal presence on the record. The reintroduction of Mr. Brett alongside longtime member Greg Hetson, Gurewitz’s replacement Brian Baker, and bassist Jay Bentley gives the group’s guitar sound the punch it was lacking. Finally, new drummer Brooks Wackerman adds a little more dimension and technique than was present on other BR albums.

The songs themselves show growth, as well. The lyrics are still the same philosophical punk that they’ve a career was built on, but the presentation is much more evolved. Despite the sour times that the country has recently undergone, BR is still pumping its anti-war beliefs in songs like "Kyoto Now!" and "Sorrow" to the status-quo bashing of "You Don’t Belong" and "Materialist."

This record is the definitive Bad Religion. While not as groundbreaking as "No Control" or "Stranger Than Fiction," amongst others, it still earns my full approval and kudos!