Splinter
by The Offspring
  • Record Label: Sony
  • Release Date: Dec 9, 2003
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 43 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 43
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 43
  3. Negative: 3 out of 43

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  1. SlasherV
    Oct 27, 2012
    8
    I really enjoyed Splinter, It has alot of pretty good songs on here. however The Worst Hangover Ever is one of their worst songs. But the rest of the Album is solid.
  2. oprahwinfrey
    Jul 1, 2004
    2
    honestly, this band is totally selling out, smash was a truly amazing album, and the offspring is totally capable of better music. this album makes no sense at all. the offspring is way more capable of making better music, and this album is just lame.
  3. FiL
    Oct 3, 2005
    10
    It's fantastic
  4. MattM.
    Dec 30, 2003
    8
    I am a very huge offspring fan and this cd is up there with the great ones (Americana, Smash). It is short, but very very sweet.
  5. SpeetMadow
    Dec 7, 2004
    10
    I love this CD and I found that Race against myself sounds better sped up.
  6. Ashley
    Jan 27, 2004
    10
    I love this CD and I don't see how anyone could give it a low rating.
  7. billybob
    Aug 24, 2004
    8
    A more mature sound for The Offspring, but nevertheless a good sounding cd.
  8. filler
    Aug 11, 2008
    8
    Horrid: The Worst Hangover Ever Bad: When You're in Prison Alright: Neocon, Hit That, Spare Me the Details Good: Race Against Myself Awesome: The Noose, Long Way Home, Head Around You, Never Gonna Find Me, Lightning Rod, Da Hui Overall verdict: With Splinter, The Offspring proves the they still have what it takes to make a new 'Smash'. The makings of a hit are there. The Horrid: The Worst Hangover Ever Bad: When You're in Prison Alright: Neocon, Hit That, Spare Me the Details Good: Race Against Myself Awesome: The Noose, Long Way Home, Head Around You, Never Gonna Find Me, Lightning Rod, Da Hui Overall verdict: With Splinter, The Offspring proves the they still have what it takes to make a new 'Smash'. The makings of a hit are there. The album suffers from being too short, and not having enough 'generic' straight-up Offspring rockers.… Expand
  9. stevey
    Jan 16, 2004
    8
    i thought this album was excellant it has its catchy songs such as hit that and du hai but the only thing that i found wrong with it is that it is way too short which is why it lost 2 marks if it was a bit longer then it would have been a 10. when your in prison is hilarious i reccomend this to n e one.
  10. KeppoS
    Jul 14, 2004
    5
    Two excellent songs, Da Hui and (Can't Get My)Head Around You, but after that, couple OKs and then mostly piece of crap. Those two songs remind me that there can be better.
  11. JoeSchmoe
    Sep 2, 2004
    8
    Its brief length is the only real compaint I have against Splinter. As usual, we have a bunch of shallow-minded nimrods whining about the CD. It's fine if you don't like it, but could you please explain your nitpicks in some way other than "we've heard it all before"? Even if the material on Splinter is familiar, there's no reason why you can't make stick to your Its brief length is the only real compaint I have against Splinter. As usual, we have a bunch of shallow-minded nimrods whining about the CD. It's fine if you don't like it, but could you please explain your nitpicks in some way other than "we've heard it all before"? Even if the material on Splinter is familiar, there's no reason why you can't make stick to your roots and keep making awesome music. I'm of the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy. The Offspring's strongest asset has always been there fast-paced, catchy rockers, so it comes as no surprise that about half of Splinter's tracks follow that formula - and do it very well. From the heavily distorted guitars of Head Around You to the harmonized vocals on Long Way Home, the Offspring prove that they still rock after 20 years, and are expertly gifted at keeping their chosen musical style seem fresh and invigorating. Of course, every band needs to grow and evolve somewhat over time, which is why the band mixes it up on the remaining tracks. Hit That is the requisite novelty single, and it stacks up well against the likes of Original Prankster and Come Out and Play. Race Against Myself is a superb, emotional, grungy rocker. Spare Me the Details echoes early Green Day, with its sugary pop sound and instantly catchy melody. And Da Hui is great - the band just lets loose for a minute and a half with a kick-ass punk anthem, and I see this song as a big "F.U." to everyone who complains about these guys being not punk enough. Overall, another excellent, diverse CD from the Offspring.… Expand
  12. Spud
    Dec 29, 2003
    8
    A good solid collection. Certainly not as good as the still jaw-dropping "Smash", but a must for any genre fan and highly recommended to everyone else
  13. oldfartsneedtodie
    Dec 31, 2003
    5
    this has been done before, but they do it with fun and flair, it's hard not to pay attention. forgettable, but not horrible.
  14. SeppoK
    Apr 17, 2004
    6
    This is OK-cd, but not very good. Earlier stuff is better. Without brilliant Da Hui I would give this 4, but now I give it 6.
  15. CollinB
    Mar 29, 2005
    10
    I hate the say the loss of Ron has inherently kicked the band into a whole new dimension of punk rock, but it has. Josh Freese is brilliant on those studio tracks, and Adam is fantastic live. And, is it me, or does Dexter sound as strong as say the days of "Gone Away?" This ablum is evolution, and it's a 10. But why, god why, is it only 30 something minutes?
  16. DaveC
    Jul 23, 2005
    9
    Not as good as the much older albums, but still a great offspring album and an improvement on americana and conspiracy of one
  17. daven
    Sep 22, 2006
    7
    This is middle of the road Offspring. It beats the previously released Conspiracy of One, but falls short to Smash, Americana, and Ixnay on the Hombres.
  18. RageAndGrace
    Nov 17, 2018
    7
    Splinter, when I first listened to it, was awful. I think the end of the album for me just fell short a little bit (wait just a second, I'm not done) - I'm still not too keen on The Worst Hangover Ever or Never Gonna Find Me. But the more I listen to this album, the more I like it. I used to hate Da Hui, but it's just a fun song, and I highly doubt it was meant to be taken seriously.
    It    Splinter, when I first listened to it, was awful. I think the end of the album for me just fell short a little bit (wait just a second, I'm not done) - I'm still not too keen on The Worst Hangover Ever or Never Gonna Find Me. But the more I listen to this album, the more I like it. I used to hate Da Hui, but it's just a fun song, and I highly doubt it was meant to be taken seriously.
    It starts with Neocon, a song that surprisingly, I like a lot. I can rarely say this for albums, but it matches the album art perfectly. I am a little disappointed that this album removed the introduction/speaking song at the start of the album, but it was a long-gone joke anyway.
    The Noose isn't a great song, but it's not really that bad, and I approve of the song, despite it not being my favourite.
    Long Way Home is another one of those filler tracks. I love it on its own, but it and The Noose just kind of blend together on album listens.
    Hit That, unsurprisingly, is an amazing song. Everybody knows that. It's catchy, it's .... it's just catchy. That's it. It's an amazing song that I don't think anyone that has ever heard it dislikes.
    And it keeps getting better! Race Against Myself, while some may think it blends with the other two I just mentioned, I don't because in my opinion, it's on a different level. Race Against Myself is a brilliant song that's just so powerful that I love it.
    There's no denying that (Can't Get My) Head Around You is an amazing song. It's just a well-known fact. I love how completely insane it is, and how it's placed right between two songs it completely doesn't belong between just to amplify it (in my theory, at least).
    Okay, let's talk about The Worst Hangover Ever. .... Good?
    I honestly don't know with this song. Is it a joke? I hope it's a joke, because I laughed, but if it's not, then it's god-awful. It was funny, though, so let's just leave it at that.
    Never Gonna Find Me is a short little song that doesn't have much to offer, but it's not necessarily bad. I also like how it leads into Lightning Rod...
    another amazing song. Lightning Rod is just absolutely great. On first listen I thought it was a little weird, and it is, but I like it for the same reason that I like Haushinka by Green Day.
    Spare Me the Details is another underrated song that I really love. It's weird how these songs about heartbreak near the end of an album are always so amazing... Amazed from Ixnay, Denial Revisited from Conspiracy, Spare Me the Details from Splinter, Fix You from RAFRAG....it keeps going and going. The Offspring are such a versatile band that I'm usually excited when they release something potentially 'weird', because they're good at going out of their comfort zone.
    And no matter what you say, there's only one song left on the album. When You're in Prison doesn't count.
    Da Hui, as I've discussed, is really fun and fast. I'm a drummer, and this song is catchy and 190 bpm, so I have a lot of fun with this track.
    And that's the end of the album! Overall, it's not perfect, and has a lot of minor flaws, but nothing too major in my opinion. I think 7 is a solid rating for an album like Splinter.    … Expand
  19. AhoyNut
    Nov 15, 2022
    6
    Kinda mid album tbh. Hit That is pretty good, that's about it. Some of their other albums I highly enjoy to the extreme. But even so this album is one of the very few albums even outside the Offspring I didn't really enjoy THAT much.
  20. SpallCD
    Feb 21, 2023
    5
    Despite containing my favourite Offspring song, this album has always struck me as a bit dull. There are certainly very high moment on here which I will get into, but this song does suffer from feeling as bit samey throughout.
    Neocon - This is an opener seemingly designed purely to get a live crowd hyped up. Not a bad idea....but it is basically never played at live concerts. Meaning it    Despite containing my favourite Offspring song, this album has always struck me as a bit dull. There are certainly very high moment on here which I will get into, but this song does suffer from feeling as bit samey throughout.
    Neocon - This is an opener seemingly designed purely to get a live crowd hyped up. Not a bad idea....but it is basically never played at live concerts. Meaning it does feel quite pointless.
    The Noose - Luckily, the first proper song is a strong one. The drummer who only played on this album makes a great first impression, with said drums really hitting hard and fast for most of this tracks. The chorus is fast and fun to sing to, and it is just overall a very solid start.
    Long Way Home - Another song where the drumming really stands out. The short 4 second interludes of just drumming is a great way to show off the new skill in the band. This is not necessarily a complaint, however there is an ever increasing cliché of the Offspring's chorus just being the same phrase repeated over and over again. Which does drag this track down a little bit just because of how overused it is in their discography.
    Hit That - My favourite Offspring song. I know many are not fans of the more pop side of the band, but this song just works on so many levels. The lyrics are really interesting, talking about the dangers of hook-up culture on families. The piano and unique sounds dotted throughout the song makes it special and the chorus is the catchiest thing ever. It is impossible not to sing along and properly bop your head. 10/10 song.
    Race Against Yourself - This song feels quite similar to 'Denial, Revisited' with it being a ballad with a great emphasis on long whiney vocals. I absolutely love 'Denial, Revisited', but this song is okay. It suffers from dragging on a bit too long and feeling a little dull. Though the little guitar change up in the bridge is pretty cool.
    (Can't Get My) Head Around You - The other major single released for this album. It is a very solid song and enjoyable to listen to, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't quite a forgettable single compared to their back catalogue of greats. I'm glad its very short, as I think it would have been easy to feel like its dragging on if it went on for too much longer. Let me reiterate, still a good song.
    The Worst Hangover Ever - I think this one is trying to be a joke song on the album. I believe it moderately succeeds, its a fun song. However, as a running theme in this album, it just comes across a bit flat and dull. A song about drinking and hangovers should have a bit more oomph to it if its being presented in a goofy way.
    Never Gonna Find Me - This is kind of an odd song. The verse is fast and intense, the chorus is mostly pretty fun and easy to head bang too and the bridge is really unique and probably the best part of the song. But there is just something not fully working here and I do not know what. It just comes across as forgettable yet again.
    Lightning Rod - One of the more traditionally punky songs on the album. The guitar work from noodles between singing and the highlight of the base in the verse works really well. But this just is not a song I come back to much.
    Spare Me The Details - Okay....this is pretty great. I love how this song talks about a pretty horrifying situation in such an upbeat and fun tune. However even with that, the resentment and anger still comes across clearly. I love how this song is not afraid to explode at certain points, especially in the bridge and final pre-chorus when Dexter just outrights how pissed he is. Great song
    Da Hui - I love me some absolute explosions of energy. And Da Hui does this amazingly. The song does not let up at all. Whether it's Dexter's shouted vocals or the relentless surf style guitar, especially in the very end, this song what this album needed to finally ejected energy back into this album. I hope the final song keeps this up..
    When You're in prison - I spoke too soon. Clearly a massive joke song, which I have no problem with. I love a bity of goofiness in otherwise mainly serious albums. But this 100% should have been a bonus track and certainly not the closer. It just leaves you with a weird feeling when you listen to the whole album all the way through. Da Hui would have been a fair better closer.

    Overall, this is such a weird album. There are moments of brilliance with songs like 'Hit That', 'Spare Me The Details' and 'Da Hui', but ,much of the album just feels quite dull and uninspired overall. This is probably my least favourite post Smash album, which is still crazy to say as it has my Favourite Offspring song of all time.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

75
#75 Most Discussed Album of 2003

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 1 out of 11
  1. Launch.com
    80
    The band attempts to continue to deliver the hits on its seventh album, Splinter, while retaining its punk roots, and the Offspring succeeds on both counts.
    Read full review
  2. Mojo
    80
    Throughout, Splinter's sound is powerful and dense, with The Offspring weaving and surging within it like the experts they've become. [Dec 2003, p.109]
  3. Q Magazine
    60
    A safe, calculated release. [Jan 2004, p.121]
See all critic reviews »