‘Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace’ Rises Again With New 15th Anniversary Vinyl Pressing
by Anton Kromoff
Welcome to the table,
When I was a kid I spent a lot of time in the back of a comic shop’s back gaming room. It was a place for me to get away from my parents, family, church people, and kids from school. It was honestly super sketchy when I think about it, because I was way too young to be left unsupervised with a bunch of older guys for hours on end. Nothing bad ever happened (that I’m aware of). I got to listen to some really cool music and someone always had a spare slice of pizza for the weird little nerd kid who read gaming books like holy men read their scriptures.
One of the bands that I was introduced to in those days was The Offspring. Their sound was so raw and chaotic compared to my parent’s regular mix of country pop and top 40 pop rock that was the only music we were allowed to have on in the house. Listening to Offspring and some of the other bands those cool older nerds* introduced me to made me feel like more of an individual. Like I finally had something I could share with other people that were not completely controlled by my parents or the church. From Smash to Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, The Offspring has stuck with me as one of those pieces of my early years that felt like it was actually mine.
So when this news came across my desk, I was instantly transported back to pizza and miniatures and jokes that went way over my head. Moments shared between dudes who were old enough to be my father, but never once thought about making fun of me for knowing the difference between a halfling and a kinder or the damage a small laser did during a Battletech skirmish.
The Offspring have released a special limited-edition 15th-anniversary reissue package of their acclaimed record, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, out now via Round Hill Records/UMe.
You ( and anyone you know who is a fan ) can get the 15th-anniversary package of Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace now at this link!
Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is now available again after many years on vinyl and this special edition of the album features a bonus 45 with two new live tracks recorded at Hellfest in 2022, re-imagined artwork on the cover, and art lithos for each song.
A digital version of the record, which features new animated artwork, is also available now on streaming services.
At the time of release, Rise and Fall, Rage And Grace cracked the top 10 of the Billboard 200 and went to #4 on Top Alternative Albums in the U.S., along with reaching #3 in Japan, #3 in Australia, #4 in Canada, and #6 in France. In addition, You’re Gonna Go Far Kid, the band’s #1 most streamed track with over 1.9 billion global streams across streaming services, is featured on the album. To this day, it continues to be one of the band’s most illustrious records, and the RIAA recently awarded it a Gold Certification.
Off the heels of a Sold Out European tour, The Offspring are currently gearing up for the U.S. leg of their Let The Bad Times Roll Tour, featuring special guests Sum 41 and Simple Plan.
Yeah, little kid me would have lost his mind to be able to go to this show, and adult me is, well frankly, losing his mind that he is going as well. These bands were definitive sounds for me as a kid and serve as a comfort in some super dark times.
The 24-city tour will kick off on August 1 at White River Amphitheatre in Auburn, WA, making stops across the U.S. in Irvine, Phoenix, Atlanta, Tampa, St. Louis, and more before wrapping up in Mansfield, MA at Xfinity Center on September 3. Tickets are available now at this link.
Until next time, the best part is The Offspring are also currently working on new music!
*Cool Older Nerds – I know as an adult those slices of pizza were not extra but given to a weird little dork who was clearly hungry and the kindness they showed me was mindblowing when I think back on it. I got lucky that there was a community of people who were weathering the satanic panic and still somehow had time to have my back when I was trying to figure out who I was in this world.
