3 out of 5 stars

With its latest release, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, The Offspring returns after a four-and-a-half-year hiatus, marking its longest break between album releases. Reaching back to the band’s classic sound, the album features blistering rock and a numbing mentality that is sure to keep old fans interested.

The record blasts off with “Half-Truism,” an anthem-like track that carries a path to destruction. Knowing that the end is inevitable, lead vocalist Dexter Holland belts out, “If we don’t make it alive / Well it’s a hell of a good day to die / All our light that shines strong / Only lasts for so long.”

The first single, “Hammerhead,” gains the most momentum in hard-edged antics that The Offspring are known to savor. Here, the lyrics invoke the character of a mad man carrying out a disturbing act of violence. With the last lines, “And you can all hide behind your desks now / And you can cry, ‘Teacher come help me!’ / Through you all / My aim is true,” it is obvious that Holland is speaking about school shootings.

Trying out a moralistic ballad, “Kristy, Are You Doing Okay?” highlights the aftermath of a rape from the eyes of the victim’s friend. Though the song is troubling at first, the friend hopes his voice will heal some of the damage from the past. It’s a powerful message from the band that will catch some off guard, but it has a sincerity to it that deserves respect.

The Offspring’s biggest flaw on the album is the repetitive and dull guitar-heavy sound from a handful of its tracks. The group also falters in “Stuff Is Messed Up,” where Holland’s sarcastic lyrics on today’s media hardly give way to a solution or a distinctive voice on the subject.

Other tracks, like “Nothingtown” and “You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” have catchy hooks with no palpable voice in the verses, which immediately tunes out the basis of the song. This has been a disconcerting problem that The Offspring continues to ignore, which hinders its overall performance on the album.

Though an inspiration for bands across America, The Offspring was never seen as a band that produced groundbreaking material, and Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace is no different. While you might get a kick out of one of its songs at the end of the day, the moment will pass.

[Reach reporter Edwin Ortiz at arts@thedaily.washington.edu.]