Splinter is the seventh studio album by American punk rock bandthe Offspring, released on December 9, 2003, by Columbia Records. It was the first albumthe band released without drummer Ron Welty. Although not as successful as the Offspring's previous albums, Splinter received gold certificationtwo months after its release. The album received average reviews, but still sold reasonably well, debuting at number 30 on the US Billboard 200 with around 87,000 copies sold in its first week. "Hit That" and " Head Around You" were the only two singles to accompany the album; "Spare Me the Details" was also released as a single, but charted only in New Zealand.
Production and marketing
After spending nearly two years supporting the Conspiracy of One album, The Offspring began writing songs for Splinter in late 2002. Recording sessions for the album lasted from January to August 2003, making it the first time The Offspring had recorded an album for that long. Uncomfortable with the idea of bringing in an immediate replacement for Welty, the band opted to have session musician Josh Freese play drums for the recording of the album, with plans to find a full-time drummer upon the record's completion. The crowd vocals in the opening track "Neocon" were recorded at Reading Festival in 2002 during the Offspring's set on the festival's main stage.
Album title
On April Fools' Day 2003, the album's title was jokingly announced as Chinese Democrazy, a reference to the repeatedly delayed Chinese Democracy album by Guns N' Roses. Holland quipped, "You snooze, you lose. Axl ripped off my braids, so I ripped off his album title." The album's title comes from a lyric that appears in "Long Way Home". This is the second and last new studio album to have the skull logo on their cover to date, excluding the Greatest Hits album. It later appeared on their 2012 single, "Cruising California ".
Track listing
Enhanced version
The Enhanced CD portion of the CD contains the following:
There was another song recorded for the album called "Pass Me By". The band felt that it was too heavy for the album, which is why it wasn't included on the disc. It was for a time rumored to appear on The Offspring's next album Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, but as of its release, the track has yet to surface.
Critical reception
Similar to Conspiracy of One, has been given a score of 60 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "mixed or average reviews". Reviewers from sites such as Launch.com claimed Splinter was a welcome return to The Offspring's punk roots, citing songs such as "The Noose" and "Da Hui". The more mainstream songs, "Hit That" and "Spare Me the Details", were also praised. AllMusic's Johnny Loftus also praised punk songs such as "Long Way Home" and "Lightning Rod", and claimed second single "Head Around You" was the album's standout. However, he criticized songs such as "The Worst Hangover Ever" and "When You're in Prison", calling them 'throwaways'. PopMatters also praised "Head Around You", "Race Against Myself", and other heavier songs on the album. However, it also called "Worst Hangover Ever" 'idiotic' and again criticized "When You're In Prison" and "Neocon". They also criticized the album’s short length, calling it “wasted potential".
