Rancid - ...And Out Come The Wolves
Epitaph Records
1995
Tim Armstrong - Vocals, Guitar
Lars Frederiksen - Guitar, Vocals
Matt Freeman - Bass, Vocals
Brett Reed - Drums
When talking to Rancidkennedy138, he mentioned to me that NO Rancid albums had been reviewed. This was a major shock to me as I knew there were LOADS of Rancid fans here on MX, so I am taking the honour of reviewing this CD.
When I first heard Rancid, I saw the video for "Time Bomb", and immediately I changed the channel, because I hated the singer's voice, and thought they were terrible. A few weeks later, the video for "Ruby Soho" came on, and being a bassist, the bassline caught my attention. I soon went and downloaded it, as well as more Rancid songs, such as "Maxwell Murder", and "Journey To The End Of The East Bay" and no prizes are given out to guessing why these songs were downloaded. Now whenever me and my friend jam together, we ALWAYS play a few songs from this album, such as "Ruby Soho", "Journey To The End Of The East Bay" and "Roots Radicals".
This is probably the most famous Rancid album, next to "Let's Go" or "Indestructable". The stand-out song of the album is without a shadow of doubt "Maxwell Murder", for the outstanding bass solo. "Roots Radicals" is also one of the main songs of the album, with a quite catchy solo on the guitar. "Time Bomb" is most commonly Rancid's final song when playing live. Another song that stands out on the album would be "Olympia, Wa" with a small guitar riff throughout the song, and a great one at that. "The Wars End" and "Old Friend" are favourites of mine, although "Old Friend" is very similar to "Time Bomb". I have talked all about the bass, and the guitar, but I have avoided the singing, lyrics and drums for some reason! The drums are just right for the record, as Brett has chosen the perfect fill-ins for places. The lyrics, if you understand any of them, have been well written by Tim. I particularly like the lyrics to "Ruby Soho". Even though I admit Rancid don't have the greatest singers, they make up for it with their amazing and catchy riffs, and also their energey and enthusiasm on stage.
I found that the end of the album is usually where I skip tracks. I found that "As Wicked", no matter how much I love it, sounds too similar to "Roots Radicals" and part of the verse to "Maxwell Murder". When you put it into perspective, even though I really admire him, Matt Freeman isn't as great as he's cracked up to be. He uses the same parts of songs for others.
With the small flaws aside, this is Rancid's best album in my opinion, and I am sure that many others will agree. I give "...And Out Come The Wolves"
4.5/5.
