Album Review: Insomniac by Green Day

Insomniac is the fourth studio album to be released by punk rock band Green Day, and it is one of my personal favorites. When you compare it to other albums by Green Day (I.E. Dookie), Insomniac contains darker lyrics and a more aggressive tone to the instrumentals. You really feel Billy Joe Armstrong portraying an Insomniac (badum tss), and the reason he does it so well is because quite frankly, he was one. He's able to put such a personal feel into the songs, like the lyrics are his first hand stories. My favorite song on this album is Brain Stew, because even though I'm definitely not on the hard drugs, this song is so relatable to anyone who hasn't been able to sleep, just waiting to sleep. Laying there, aware yet exhausted. I think the main guitar riff is meant to resemble your heart beat, and it creates a familiar sensation of constant pounding in my head. It's interesting because if I'm having trouble sleeping, I put on this song, and I'm able to go to sleep with this song running around my brain.

As always, there are stand out bass riffs, loud guitar, and the pounding beat of the drums. It all comes together in a way that you really don't see a lot in modern music. There's a big difference in between music 20 years ago to music today, and it's really sad to see that. There are some bands, like Fall Out Boy, that started out with a strong rock aspect, but now are really just a part of pop music. It's not all lost though, because new bands are slowly taking root in the genre, like FIDLAR and more. The Punk Rock genre may never have such stand out and inspirational bands like Blink 182 or Green Day, but we can still hopefully expect great things in the future.

Insomniac was one of many albums that I had to choose from to make this. Some of my other favorite albums are Too and Fidlar by FIDLAR, Abbey Road by The Beatles, Enema of the State by Blink 182, Mothership by Led Zeppelin, ...And Justice for All and Master of Puppets by Metallica, Demon Days by Gorillaz, and the Green and Blue albums from Weezer. As you can see, there was a lot to choose from, from a lot of different genres, and I would suggest these albums to anyone who asks.