Offspring
Smash

THE REVIEW

The nineties, musically speaking, were not lacking in great albums. Among the great albums of that era, "Smash" by the Offspring undoubtedly deserves its spot as a masterpiece. This album, along with "Dookie" by Green Day, marked the return of punk rock to the music scene.

It starts with "Time To Relax," where a warm voice advises us to relax, although listening to the tracks on the album makes it impossible to stay seated. Next is "Nitro": energetic, explosive, fast, the mosh pit begins!! Live like there's no tomorrow, the message is clear. Some bass notes introduce "Bad Habit," followed by Noodles' guitar and Dexter Holland's hysterical voice; in just a few seconds, the song explodes with the singer's screams and Noodles' guitar riffs: the voice-guitar duo in the Offspring works great! A drum intro followed by some bass lines takes us straight to "Gotta Get Away," one of the singles from the album, not very fast but very effective. One of the toughest tracks on the album is undoubtedly "Genocide," where the guitar unveils a riff that gets stuck in your head and never leaves. The whole band here proves to be at the peak of their form, a spectacular track!! "Something To Believe In" is very nice with its chorus repeated to the point of annoyance, but it's nothing spectacular. The word spectacular, however, fits the pair "Come Out & Play" and "Self Esteem," two masterpieces from the Californian group. Track number seven (heavily cloned by the same group in the future) has a very effective oriental riff, supported by a pair of guitars and features a chorus to shout at the top of your lungs... there's no denying it, Dexter's voice is something explosive. "Self Esteem" has an a cappella intro that is very original; the song talks about a girl who makes fun of the singer... once again, the chorus is shouted to the max, and even though the song isn't very fast, it is greatly appreciated by fans live. "It'll Be A Long Time" is very fast, and here the drums pound superbly; no time to recover as another fast track immediately follows, "Killboy Powerhead." After all this energy, there's an unusual track for the band, "What Happened To You?", which is almost a ska track, a song to catch your breath before the final tracks, including the very fast (one minute and twenty seconds long) "So Alone," followed by "Not The One," which has a very nice introductory riff; here again, the track isn't very fast but is enjoyable to listen to. Ending on a high note is "Smash," a really well-crafted track: the guitar riffs are impactful and make the listener move, the track is seasoned with a splendid riff in the chorus. The initial voice tells us that everything is about to conclude, but there's still time for an instrumental piece based on "Genocide."

For those not yet tired, there's also a ghost track; just wait a couple of minutes, and we are presented with another instrumental piece, this time based on "Come Out & Play." To the oriental notes of Noodles' guitar, this great album closes, perhaps the last worthy album by the Offspring since the subsequent ones are just copies of this splendid Smash. A must-have for those who love the genre.