''...And Out Come the Wolves'' is the third studio album by American punk rock band Rancid. It was released on August 22, 1995, through

Epitaph Records Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, most acts signed to the label were punk and pop punk acts, while there are many post-hardcore and emo bands ...

. Rancid's popularity and catchy songs made them the subject of a

major label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produc ...

bidding war (hence the title, ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' taken from a poem in Jim Carroll's '' The Basketball Diaries'') that ended with the band staying on Epitaph. With a sound heavily influenced by

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, which called to mind Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman's past in

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...

, Rancid became one of the few bands of the mid-to late-1990s boom in punk rock to retain much of its original fanbase. In terms of record sales and certifications, ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' is a popular album in the United States. It produced three hit singles: " Roots Radicals", "

Time Bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use (or attempted use) of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They ar ...

" and " Ruby Soho", that earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date. All the singles charted on

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

. ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

on January 22, 1996. It was certified platinum on September 23, 2004. Along with

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

's '' Stranger than Fiction'',

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

's '' Dookie'' and The Offspring's '' Smash'', ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' helped revive mainstream interest in punk rock in the mid-1990s, signaled the initial rise of mainstream punk rock, and proved to be successful for the band. To coincide with its 20th anniversary, Rancid performed the album live in its entirety on their 2015–2016 ''

Honor Is All We Know ''...Honor Is All We Know'' is the eighth studio album by the American punk rock band Rancid, released on October 27, 2014. It is the band's first studio album since ''Let the Dominoes Fall'' (2009), and their second one to be recorded under ...

'' world tour.

Background

Rancid formed in

Albany, California Albany ( ) is a city on the east shore of San Francisco Bay in northwestern Alameda County, California. The population was 20,271 at the 2020 census. History In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their ...

, in 1991. They signed to

(founded by

guitarist Brett Gurewitz) in 1992 and released their eponymous debut album, '' Rancid'', a year later to rave reviews. While Rancid was already writing another album,

's Billie Joe Armstrong, one of the band's friends, joined them to co-write the song "Radio". This led to him playing a live show with the band, and Rancid frontman Tim Armstrong eventually asked him to become a member of the band, but he decided to continue playing in Green Day. Armstrong had previously asked

Lars Frederiksen Lars Erik Frederiksen (born Lars Erik Dapello, August 30, 1971) is an American musician and record producer best known as a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Rancid, as well as the frontman of Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and ...

to be Rancid's second guitarist, but he turned down the request. After Billie Joe declined, Frederiksen changed his mind and decided to join the band. Rancid's second album, '' Let's Go'', was released in 1994 to unexpected success and acclaim. After the release of Green Day's '' Dookie'' and The Offspring's '' Smash'' later that year, Rancid was pursued by several major labels, including

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

's Maverick Records, but eventually turned them down. They decided to stay on Epitaph and soon began recording a follow-up album.

Recording and production

''...And Out Come the Wolves'' was recorded mainly between February and May 1995. The recording took place at not only

Fantasy Studios Fantasy Studios was a music recording studio in Berkeley, California, at the Zaentz Media Center, known for its recording of award-winning albums including Journey's ''Escape'' and Green Day's ''Dookie''. Built as a private recording studio for ...

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

(where ''Let's Go'' was recorded), but also at the famous Electric Lady Studios (built by

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

) in New York City. This was the first time Rancid recorded an album at more than one studio. Rather than having the band's previous producer Brett Gurewitz, Jerry Finn was appointed to produce the album. Gurewitz would eventually start working with the band again, beginning with 2000's '' Rancid''.

Release, reception and legacy

''...And Out Come the Wolves'' was released on August 22, 1995, and peaked at number 45 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Five months after its release, the album was certified gold and in 2004 it was certified platinum. The album received positive reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

described the album as having "classic moments of revivalist punk". Erlewine praised the music and claims the album "doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground punk rock". The album received a rating of four and a half out of five stars, while "Time Bomb," "Ruby Soho" and "Roots Radicals" earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date. In 2005, ''...And Out Come the Wolves'' was ranked number 368 in ''

Rock Hard "Rock Hard" is a single by the Beastie Boys, released by Def Jam Records on 12" in 1984. The track contains samples from the AC/DC song "Back in Black", which was used without obtaining legal permission, causing the record to be withdraw ...

'' magazine's book ''The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time''.

BuzzFeed BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...

included the album at number 14 on their "36 Pop Punk Albums You Need To Hear Before You F——ing Die" list.

Cleveland.com ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio, United States. In fall 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily and 15th on Sunday. As of Ma ...

ranked "Ruby Soho" at number 21 on their list of the top 100 pop-punk songs. On May 21, 2021, it was announced that Lavasock Records is releasing a tribute album titled ''...And Out Come the Lawsuits'' featuring Link 80, Sarchasm, Omnigone, Flying Raccoon Suit, Little Debbie & The Crusaders and Stay Wild.

Professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

Dori Prange Dori Elizabeth Prange ( ; born January 9, 1991) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to orld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where she performs under the ring name Ruby Riot. Prange has also worked in World Wonder Ring Stardom (a ...

came up with her in-ring name, Ruby Riott, from the song "Ruby Soho". Prange lost the rights to the name after her release from the

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

in June 2021 however thanks to Lars Frederiksen, who hosts a wrestling

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

, she now wrestles under the name of Ruby Soho.

Artwork

The cover art is a tribute to

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

, a landmark

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

band, that originally used the image of

Alec MacKaye Alec MacKaye (born 1966) is an American singer and musician best known as a member of the DC hardcore bands Untouchables, The Faith, and Ignition. In the mid-1990s Alec joined the band The Warmers as a vocalist and guitarist. ''Mondo James Dea ...

(brother of the band's lead singer Ian MacKaye) with his head on his knees on steps of the Wilson Center steps on their eponymous debut EP.

Track listing

Personnel

Rancid * Tim Armstrong –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

– guitar, vocals *

Matt Freeman Matthew "McCall" Freeman (born Roger Matthew Freeman; April 23, 1966) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known for his bass work with the punk rock bands Operation Ivy, Rancid and as the frontman of Devil's Brigade. ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

Brett Reed Brett Reed (born July 12, 1972) is an American musician, best known as the original drummer for the punk rock bands Rancid and Devils Brigade. He joined Rancid in November 1991 and left 15 years later. He played on every Rancid release up to ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Additional musicians * Bashiri Johnson –

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

* Paul Jackson –

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

* DJ Disk – scratching (track 7) * Jim Carroll – vocals (track 7) *Eric Dinn - drums Artwork * Lars Frederiksen – cover art, cover photo * Jesse Fischer – artwork, photography Production * Jerry Finn –

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, mixing * Brett Gurewitz –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Andy Wallace – mixing * Howie Weinberg – mastering * Michael Rosen – engineer * Joe Pirrera – assistant engineer * Frank Rinella – assistant engineer * Steve Sisco – assistant engineer * Mike Fasano – technician

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:And Out Come The Wolves Rancid (band) albums 1995 albums Epitaph Records albums Albums produced by Jerry Finn Albums recorded at Electric Lady Studios