Good Riddance
Operation Phoenix

THE REVIEW

The Good Riddance were a melodic hardcore punk band, among the most appreciated and well-known especially in the New World, but also here in old Europe.

Formed at the end of the 80s, they released albums throughout the 90s which, along with those of more eminent colleagues, helped to describe and outline the coordinates of Californian melodic hardcore in the course of the nineties (Calipunk, ed.).

The band, after releasing "My Republic" in 2006, their last studio album, and following long tours around the world, decided to disband in 2007 and step aside, not before having recorded a series of concerts, which were then captured in the live album "Remains In Memory: The Final Show" (2008): their live testament.

It must be said, for the benefit of those unfamiliar with them, that although like many bands of this type, they are proponents of socio-political invectives aimed at raising awareness about the society we live in, they partly distance themselves by being noted for a style that can broadly be classified as melodic hardcore, but with a significant dose of greater aggression compared to other bands.

Indeed, for latecomer fans who discovered them with the melodies of "My Republic," this album might be a surprise, positively or negatively, depending on the case.

"Operation Phoenix" indeed represents a unique case in their discography, distancing them in part from that characteristic '90s sound and often veering into adrenaline-fueled bursts of pure hardcore in full East Coast style.

An album therefore not for everyone and not at all immediate and, above all, which could, as mentioned, leave recent listeners stunned and be poorly digested by those familiar with the group's more melodic recent nature of tracks like "The Darkest Days" and "Tell My Why", for example.

Despite everything, in this album, there are some of the greatest successes of Good Riddance's career, as demonstrated by the initial and compelling "Shadow Of Defeat" or the more melodic "Heresy, Hypocrisy And Revenge", among the best tracks.

If tracks like "Blueliner", the urgent-sounding "Eighteen Seconds" from the title alone, "Shit-Talking Capitalist" with sublime bass lines, "30 Day Wonder" (featured in a famous skateboarding video game), the fierce and shouted "Yesterday Died - Tomorrow Won’t Be Born", "Winning The Hearts And Minds", and the good final cover of "My War" by Black Flag, take us directly on a dark and direct journey to gray New York City, it is in tracks like "The Hardest Part" that we find the classic Californian sound that admirers have come to love over the years.

Equally strong, however, are the remaining tracks such as the adrenaline-fueled rhythmic ups and downs of "Indoctrination" and the punk-rock finale of "After The Nightmare" one of the rare mid-tempo tracks on the album, demonstrating how the Californian group leaves little room for pauses or "dead" moments.

It’s hard to select a standout track that rises above the rest, but the fantastic "Letters Home" with its fiery solos and a very passionate chorus with a bittersweet flavor, reminiscent of their followers Rise Against, comes very close.

Probably the album suffers from an excessively long tracklist, which ends up penalizing the final result, with not all tracks being memorable, but this is part of the script.

Nevertheless, Russ Runkin's voice, with its dirty and raw tone but also capable of being melodic, manages to bind the ups and downs along the path and keep the machine consistently on the road.

The album, as previously stated, is not overly cheerful, tending instead towards a more destructive and dark mood, totally far from certain market logics, with structures that are fast and short, yes, but almost never linear, perhaps more aimed at conveying a message through the lyrics like Propagandhi, rather than seeking an easy-listening tune at all costs or fitting into the classic verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/reprise song form. Precisely this particular makes many listens necessary to appreciate, memorize, and evaluate it carefully, and changing opinions mid-course will be very easy, as happened to me.

A curious detail, but not new for productions of this kind, involves various samples or snippets of famous speeches touching on various themes that open several songs (including one by Martin Luther King), which, although initially intriguing, eventually become somewhat tedious and probably should have been limited or eliminated to make the album more fluid.

As mentioned, Good Riddance, after many years, decided to hang up their instruments, as stated by the leader also due to the current music scene full of trends that leave little room for those who do not conform to certain schemes, and they understood it was time to step aside, feeling they had given all there was to give, while still remaining in the memories and hearts of the many fans who followed them everywhere over the years, deeming them a band with attitude, renowned and honest.