Category: | Review - | Publish date: | 1/1/2002 |
Source: | Punkstuff UK, January 2002 | ||
Synopsis: |
What Do You Believe?
by Jody Pla
Punkstuff UK, January 2002
American band Bad Religion represent the connection between the Punk Rock music genre and the American Dream. Over a career that has spanned twenty-one years now, Bad Religion have made succession after succession of social comment through music, and now return to the fore with not only a new line-up including, after an absence of six years, original member Brett Gurewitz, but also a new album, "The Process of Belief".
The album opens and demands the listeners attention with the nervous guitar riffs and pounding drums of "Supersonic", and is reminiscent of something taken from "Suffer" (Epitaph, 1988), and seems to reflect the way the human race is hurtling towards self-destruction. The opening shots fired by the first song then herald the arrival of the second stand-out song, "Prove It". Over the breakneck speed of "Prove It", vocalist Greg Graffin sings: "I don't ever need to prove myself to you", stressing the importance of individuality and self-determination. The third song, "Can't Stop It", has a hard uncomfortable edge, and ends the opening blitzkrieg raid of songs with defiance.
The next song "Broken", takes a softer, melodic approach and serves as a respite from the intensity of the first three songs. The following song "Destined For Nothing" picks up the pace, and recalls the "oozinnaahhs" of classic Bad Religion. Greg Graffin emphasises the general apathetic nature of the human race when he sings: "Why do you consent to living in fear?", before despairing: "Why can't you see? / There ain't no destiny". Track number six, "Materialist", continues in a similar vein, but this time expresses frustration towards apathy when Graffin sings: "I want to believe in you / But my plan keeps falling through".
Greg Graffin indulges this theme further on song seven, "Kyoto Now". The song begins with a jumpy guitar riff, and ends with Graffin blaming ourselves for general apathy when he states: "It's in the way we live our lives / Exactly like the double end of a cold familiar knife". However, in the next song "Sorrow", Greg Graffin offers us a resolution to our impending self-inflicted doom, and a change in musical direction. Over a heavily ska influenced bassline, Graffin shows a future where: "When the only true messiah rescues us from ourselves / There will be sorrow no more".
At this point, Bad Religion fall into the trap of self-indulgence. Despite the fact that on "Epiphany", "Evangeline", "The Defence" and "You Don't Belong", Bad Religion play around with some new sounds, instead of making informed observation and comment delivered in an unrighteous way, the band just seem to be preaching to the listener. It is only on track twelve, "The Lie" and the album closer, "Bored and Extremely Dangerous", a short catchy Punk Rock song with a cool break on top of which Graffin vents more frustration through singing: "Why won't anyone listen to me?", that Bad Religion redeem themselves.
Overall, "The Process of Belief" is Bad Religion's most consistent and well-structured album since "Stranger Than Fiction" (Atlantic, 1996)[actually it's 1994; some of the lyrics quoted in the article are wrong as well -ed]. On "The Process of Belief", Bad Religion sound focused again, and the return of Brett Gurewitz and the arrival of The Vandal's stand-in drummer Brooks Wackerman, has re-invigorated an old formula, inspiring the band to collectively seek new creative depths. Songs such as "Prove It", "Destined for Nothing" and "Bored and Extremely Dangerous" emphasise Bad Religion's ability to make relevant social comment that is delivered with full impact through direct and unpretentious music. Bad Religion continue to represent the parallel between Punk Rock and the American Dream through the way in which their musical career reflects the diversity, hypocrisy, success and failure of society. However, although the band are tight, and the songwriting is solid, "The Process of Belief" is flawed by the way in which the band do not seem to be able to escape from making the same judgements of error that have plagued them since "Recipe For Hate" (Epitaph, 1993). Ultimately, Bad Religion succeed in articulating the message about the so called "Process of Belief" through re-invigorating their roots, and have produced an album that is a solid base to build on.