...And Out Come The Wolves Chicago IL

...And Out Come The Wolves

Rancid

Epitaph Records, 1995

REVIEW BY: Sean McCarthy

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 01/02/1998

Try to label most any band "punk" and you usually got someproblems. Try to say Rancid is punk to a punk purist and you've gotsome serious problems. Rancid has the look (mohawks), thesocial-oriented lyrics, the loyalty to a smaller record label andlead singer Tim Armstrong even has "punk" tattooed on his fingers,but for some reason, that isn't enough for many purists of the punkcommunity.

Fortunately, Rancid doesn't give a shit about trying to impressthe masses at their own expense. That is especially evident withtheir adventureous 1995 ' release, ...And Out Come the Wolves While the album could have beentrimmed by two or three tracks, it's a bracing declaration of truepunk ethos. Green Day would rather be labeled "power pop," HenryRollins would kick your ass if you were to limit his music range tojust "punk," but Rancid proudly wears the label throughout ...And Out Come the Wolves.

Rancid attacks racism ("Avenues & Alleyways"), urbanviolence ("Maxwell Murder") and gives a strang, empathetic tale ofdrug addiction ("Junkie Man"). All songs are addressed with apulverising, catchy beat and are less than three minutes. And likethe best punk bands, Rancid thrives on a duling chemistry. Duoguitarists and lyric writers Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksenprovide a strong balance, especially with their differing vocalstyles. Tim beautifully sneers most of his lyrics while Larsprovides some smooth harmonies.

Andy Wallace certainly doesn't hurt the chemistry. The mastermixer of Slayer, Faith No More and Nirvana's best works mixed ...And Out Come the Wolves, giving it a gritty, yet pristinesound. And with Jerry Finn and Rancid producing the entire album,the creative juices were flowing througout the album.