After the year that humanity as a whole has endured, a track such as this from a band whose energy and vitality is everything is even more sobering. This track is a stark reflection on grief and loss an incredibly mature contemplation on one of the sad realities of getting older, which is that those that you love begin to leave you behind. The introduction of the mournful piano grinds the party to a starkly bleak halt, with mournful chords that echo those in tracks such as Tears For Fears’ haunting ballad ‘Mad World’. Yet, at times, it is taking a small breather from the spin-kicking chaos of the punk rock formula that produces some of the record’s most stunning moments: namely, penultimate track ‘Gone Away’. There are some moments of unnecessary garnishing on ‘Let The Bad Times Roll’: their fuzzy guitar cover of ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’ is somewhat self-indulgent, and the vocals on hauntingly eerie closer ‘Lullaby’ are buried beneath more levels of bubbling reverb than it is possible to conceive of on a punk record. And that is also part of the reason you sometimes need to shake off all that adult responsibility and indulge in feeling like a teenager again! And that is why their riotous, fever-pitch sound still works – growing up doesn’t mean growing old, but it does change your viewpoints and your experiences become part of your journey. It is the seventh track on their fourth studio album Ixnay on the Hombre (1997) and was released as the second single from the album. The Offspring are using their role as elder statesmen of punk to provide a guiding light for the next generation, by penning lyrics that are mature and observational, with a darkly insistent truth. 'Gone Away' is a song by American rock band The Offspring. These bands formed the foundations of the scene from which The Offspring would soon arise, and so this band have already seen how badly drugs can affect the lives of many of those they grew up alongside: so, if anyone has the perspective to urge today’s young people not to make those same mistakes, it’s them. Social Distortion frontman Mike Ness battled with drug addiction for many years NOFX’s Smelly earned his nickname because he smelt so badly, owing to his addiction to heroin at the time and Darby Crash of The Germs ended his own life by overdosing on heroin. Whilst ‘The Opioid Diaries’ is, in the first instance, a comment on the current opioid crisis in the United States, it’s intensity comes from the fact that the men delivering this message have been here before. However, The Offspring have been known for being unafraid to tackle serious societal failings in their music: one example that springs to mind is the utterly profound ‘Come Out And Play’ from 1994’s ‘Smash’, which deals with gang violence in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles. Again, the radio-effect guitars, rocketing through at breakneck speed could fool you for a second into thinking this is a celebration of youthful hedonism.
Similar in tone is the stunning ‘The Opioid Diaries’.
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