Artist: "The Offspring"
Album: "Ignition"
Genre: Punk Rock
Label: Epitaph

Reviewer: -RoG-
Posted: 11/17/2008

Review: Most people know The Offspring because of their big hit singles such as "Come Out and Play", "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Hit That" and others. The sad fact is, their music has been on a slow but steady decline in quality since 1996 when they released Ixnay on the Hombre. Sure, they still have some good tunes here 'n there, and I doubt it'll ever get to the point where I'd be unwilling to give their latest release a shot, but there's an audible hollowness to their sound now and I'm unable to ignore it. In all honesty though, I think this is because of their first release on Epitaph records - Ignition. I will forever compare anything The Offspring release to this older masterpiece.

As catchy as Smash was, it was Ignition that really impressed the hell out of me. The variety of fast 'n angry tunes is great, and they're all catchy as hell as you would expect, but the album has a much edgier feel than any of their latter releases. What would be really surprising to somebody who's only heard their radio hits is just how well written Ignition actually is. From their more serious tunes such as "LAPD", which aggressively protests everybody's favorite police force, to the more reserved melancholic ones about personal struggles, there are many layers to this album and they all blend together nicely.

A lot of people find the band to be a bit grating and annoying these days, and while this is something I can understand to an extent, I highly suggest checking out Ignition. Just one listen to an amazing song like "Dirty Magic" will have you wondering how this is even the same band that you're hearing these days. Here's hoping they can somehow find the drive to produce this kind of sound again in the future. While I doubt it will ever happen, if they do manage to pull it off, I'll be among the first in line to check it out. Until then, I'll continue to listen to this often overlooked punk masterpiece.

Overall rating:
(Scored on a 0.5 - 5 pickles rating: 0.5 being the worst and 5 being the best)