The Offspring
's second album for
Epitaph
did the impossible: it landed in the Top Five, unheard of for independent records.
crossed over due to the raucous, Eastern-tinged single
"Come Out and Play,"
which stopped and started just like
Nirvana
, only without the Seattle trio's recklessness. The record stayed in the charts because
the Offspring
sounded relentlessly heavy, no matter how much the band claimed to be
punk
. Their tempos are slower than traditional
hardcore
, and their attack is as heavy as
Metallica
. But they acted like they were
, with odes to no
"Self Esteem"
and singing about fighting in school. Nothing on the album matches the incessant catchiness of the singles, but
Smash
is a solid record, filled with enough heavy riffs to keep most teenagers happy. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine