Background
After taking a break from touring in promotion of the band's fourth album Insomniac (1995), Green Day recorded the more experimental Nimrod (1997). The record, which delved into a more wide variety of genres including folk, ska, and surf rock, featured the unprecedented acoustic hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". Vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong recalled that the song's stylistic departure from the group's earlier work made him anxious about the song's release: "I was scared for that song to come out...because it was such a vulnerable song, to put that song out and it was like which way will it end up going? It was really exciting and it kind of sparked more in us as songwriters to expand on that."
The band embarked on the Nimrod promotional tour, which largely featured more intimate shows with audiences of 1,500 to 3,000 people. By the end of the tour, the band noted that its audience had evolved. 924 Gilman Street, the punk club in the band's hometown that had once banned Green Day after the group signed with a major label, booked bassist Mike Dirnt's side prodect The Frustrators for a show. Dirnt described the experience as "a wonderful piece of closure". Punk rock music was no longer popular in the mainstream as rap metal acts such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock were experiencing success. According to Studio 880 owner John Lucasey, the band was "definitely at a very big crossroads."
Read more about this topic: Warning (Green Day album)
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