This is the 12th Bad Religion album in a 20-year-plus career that has seen the Californian punk survivors derided as "sell-outs" after signing to a major label before being welcomed back as conquering heroes when they returned to guitarist Brett Gurewitz's label Epitaph. Such is the fickle nature of the hardcore scene.
'The Process Of Belief' finds Gurewitz back in the fold after a series of well-publicised events --- the success of Epitaph band The Offspring, fall-outs over the major label deal, not to mention drug addiction - led to his departure from the band in 1994. His return marks the reinstatement of one of the most legendary line-ups in their arena - in addition to founding
members Gurewitz and vocalist Greg Graffin, ex-Circle Jerk Greg Hetson and former Minor Threat man Brian Baker make up the rest of their guitar armoury.
Like Fugazi, Bad Religion have survived the vagaries of fashion by resolutely refusing to pay concessions to what's going on in the wider world. In the case of this album that means straight-down-the-barrel hardcore thrashing with anthemic, harmony-driven choruses and barely a pause for breath between the 14 tracks. Which, ultimately, makes for a pretty one-dimensional album, although the band's lyrical preoccupations are still right-on, with alienation ('Destined For Nothing', 'You Don't Belong') and disillusionment with the state of the world ('Supersonic', 'Broken', 'Epiphany') still remaining central concerns.
The only deviations from their well-trodden musical path come with the dub-infused beginning of 'Sorrow' and the staccato guitars of 'Epiphany'. While it will no doubt please long-term fans, 'The Process Of Belief' is unlikely to convert people not steeped in Bad Religion's history away from young turks like Sum 41 and Kids Near Water.
