The Process of Belief

Released in 2002, The Process of Belief marks the pivotal return of founding guitarist and primary songwriter Brett Gurewitz to Bad Religion after a seven-year absence. This reunion with vocalist Greg Graffin revitalized the band's creative core, resulting in an album widely considered their best work since the early 1990s. Sonically, the record abandons the experimental and sometimes lackluster production of their Atlantic Records era in favor of a return to the high-speed, melodic hardcore sound they pioneered on Epitaph. The addition of drummer Brooks Wackerman brought a new level of technical precision to the rhythm section. Lyrically, the album is a tour de force of Graffin and Gurewitz's intellectual preoccupations, tackling the Kyoto Protocol ('Kyoto Now!'), the Patriot Act ('The Defense'), and the biological basis of faith ('Materialist'). It successfully bridged the gap between their 80s hardcore roots and a more polished, modern punk sound, re-establishing them as the premier intellectuals of the genre.