There comes a time when every genre takes its turn in the blinding spotlight of pop culture. Currently, we are seeing country overtake Hip-hop on top of the charts, but there was a time when even the most niche, aggressive, raw underground music you can find lands in the binoculars of the Billboard chart. If you could go back to every mohawked, ripped-jean-wearing punk who populated places like New York City and Southern California in the 1980, that in only a few years their tight community would explode onto the world’s stage; disbelief and shock would be the typical reaction.
This exact thing happened a few times throughout the 1990s. In 1994 alone, Green Day and Bad Religion introduced the world to the punk movement that had been bubbling just underneath the industry’s nose for years. At times, it felt like punk had appropriately been represented in the eyes of the general public, while many long-term punks scoffed at the “sell-outs” for not sticking to their underground roots. The punk world was in a frenzy, but one Southern California band was preparing a statement piece of an LP that was set to send the world into a flaming craze. In 1995, Rancid unleashed …And Out Come the Wolves, their landmark punk record that catapulted them into the eyes of the mainstream.
Rancid’s third studio album was released on August 22, 1995, on the iconic Epitaph Records. The 19-song, 50-minute onslaught found the band pairing infectious melodies with hardcore fury in a way that allowed Rancid to maintain their underground edge, but it wasn’t without a fight. At the time, Rancid had been with Epitaph for four years, but the band’s star was beginning to shine bright. Their catchy, no-nonsense approach found the band amid a major label bidding war, with offers coming in from the majors looking to cash in on the buzz created by Green Day and Bad Religion. Rancid, to the overwhelming pleasure of their day-one punkers, turned them all down and handed Epitaph an undeniable piece of unadulterated ska-influenced hardcore punk.
…And Out Come the Wolves is appropriately titled to describe the buzz Rancid created in the music industry, and just what they think of the major labels battling over them. A majority of the recording was handled on home turf at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California, where Rancid was formed. The band’s third LP was also done partly in the legendary Electric Lady Studios in New York City, marking the first time a Rancid album was recorded in more than one studio. The 19 songs that resulted from these bi-coastal recording sessions are wholeheartedly and undoubtedly Rancid.
The tracklist from Rancid’s third LP is brimming with raw examples of the lovely, frantic swing the band brought to hardcore. Moments like the toe-tapping, rugged “Lock, Step & Gone” and “The 11th Hour” highlight the punchy energy that makes Rancid’s music so irresistible. Then there are hits like the unforgettable “Ruby Soho” with its bouncy guitar riffs, the anthemic “Time Bomb,” and the frantic energy of “Disorder and Disarray” that prove those major labels were correct in thinking this band was capable of writing hit records. Along with sticking to the indie route, Rancid made their long-term punk fans proud with lo-fi, blazing moments like “Junkie Man,” “Avenues & Alleyways,” and “Journey to the End of the East Bay.”
It wasn’t only punk purists and risk-taking critics giving Rancid’s third album the accolades it received. As the old saying goes, the numbers don’t lie. …And Out Come the Wolves is certified Platinum as of 2004, earned Gold status by 1996, reached 45 on Billboard 200, and topped as high as 30 on charts in Australia. The three singles from the album, the aforementioned “Time Bomb,” “Ruby Roho,” and “Roots Radicals,” took over the MTV airways, with “Time Bomb” reaching eighth on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. Of all the successes and fame that came with the release of …And Out Come the Wolves, one thing was made clear: Rancid was a global phenomenon built on the back of independent music and unfiltered punk.
