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After several fine, if rather derivative, albums of ska-inflected punk rock, and after years of being
criticized for relying unduly on gestures lifted from the Clash, Rancid has come roaring out with the
harshest and most consistent album of their career. It wouldn't be entirely accurate to say that
they've left their influences behind; rather, they've integrated them more completely and created a
sound that is completely satisfying without having to prove anything about its own originality. That
sound ends up being something like a cross between the Clash circa 1978 and the hardcore punk of the
early-'80s Los Angeles scene. "Rwanda" is a stutter-step anthem of sympathy for a devastated country;
"Corruption" has an atonal power-chord progression and headlong tempo that Minor Threat would have
killed for; and "Blackhawk Down" is built on a ridiculously catchy descending bassline and a distinctly
Oi!-flavored singalong chorus. No ska, no reggae, no dub, just 22 tracks in 38 minutes with barely a pause
between songs and high tempos all the way. If you're looking for artistic subtlety, go back to the catalog;
if all you need is a half-hour of undiluted adrenaline, you've come to the right place.