The Process of Belief

The Process of Belief
Studio album by Bad Religion
Released	January 21, 2002 January 21, 2002 January 22, 2002
Recorded	2001 at Sound City, Los Angeles & Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre	Punk rock
Length	37:10 (U.S. version) 40:48 (Japanese version)
Label	Epitaph
Producer	Brett Gurewitz and Greg Graffin
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone link Ultimate Guitar link
Bad Religion chronology
The New America (2000) The Process of Belief (2002) Punk Rock Songs (2002)

The Process of Belief is an album by the punk rock band Bad Religion, released in 2002. It marks the band's first album released on Epitaph Records since 1993's Recipe for Hate (although that label released the All Ages compilation) and to feature original guitarist Brett Gurewitz since 1994's Stranger Than Fiction. It was also the first Bad Religion album to feature new drummer Brooks Wackerman, replacing Bobby Schayer who suffered a severe shoulder injury which left him unable to drum professionally.

Musical style

The album marked the return of Bad Religion's punk rock roots, and many have compared it favorably to classics like No Control and Generator.

Production and marketing

The Process of Belief was recorded in 2001 at Sound City, Los Angeles and Westbeach Recorders, Hollywood, California, and mixed at Larabee East. This was the first time Bad Religion recorded an album at Westbeach Recorders since Recipe for Hate.

Reception

The Process of Belief was released on January 22, 2002 and is the first Bad Religion album distributed via Epitaph Records since 1993's Recipe for Hate. It peaked at number 49 on the Billboard 200 album chart,^[1] and also number 1 on Top Independent Albums, making it Bad Religion's highest U.S. chart position to date.^[2] The album sold very well, due to success of its radio hit "Sorrow," and yielded many concert favorites like "Kyoto Now!," "Epiphany," and "Supersonic." This would be Bad Religion's most successful album since 1996's The Gray Race.

Track listing

1. "Supersonic" (Graffin) – 1:47
2. "Prove It" (Graffin) – 1:15
3. "Can't Stop It" (Gurewitz) – 1:10
4. "Broken" (Gurewitz) – 2:55
5. "Destined For Nothing" (Graffin) – 2:35
6. "Materialist" (Graffin) – 1:53
7. "Kyoto Now!" (Graffin) – 3:20
8. "Sorrow" (Gurewitz) – 3:21
9. "Epiphany" (Graffin) – 4:00
10. "Evangeline" (Gurewitz) – 2:11
11. "The Defense" (Gurewitz) – 3:53
12. "The Lie" (Graffin) – 2:19
13. "You Don't Belong" (Gurewitz) – 2:50
14. "Bored And Extremely Dangerous" (Graffin) – 3:25
15. "Shattered Faith" (Japan bonus track) (Graffin) – 3:38
16. "Who We Are" (Rare B-Side) (Gurewitz) - 3:01

Personnel

• Greg Graffin - vocals, producer
• Brett Gurewitz - guitar, producer, mixing
• Brian Baker - guitar
• Greg Hetson - guitar
• Jay Bentley - bass guitar
• Brooks Wackerman - drums
• Jerry Finn - mixing
• Bob Ludwig - mastering
• Billy Joe Bowers - engineer
• Jeff Moses - assistant engineer
• Mackie Osborne - art direction, design

Notes/Trivia

• The albums title comes from a line in track 6, "Materialist", which reads "The Process of Belief is an elixir when you're weak" a Graffin song which reveals "I must confess, at times I indulge it on the sneak, but generally my outlook's not so bleak".
• Track 15, "Shattered Faith", a bonus track on the Japanese release, is very similar to "The Kids Aren't Alright" by The Offspring in the chorus and parts of the riff.
• A previously unreleased song left off from the album is on Punk-O-Rama Vol. 8 titled "Who We Are". "Shattered Faith" also appears on Punk-O-Rama Vol. 8.
• This album celebrates the 20th anniversary of the first Bad Religion album How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, although the band had been around for twenty-two years.

References