Splinter is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band the Offspring, released on December 9, 2003, by Columbia Records. It was the first album the band released without long-time drummer Ron Welty, who was fired before the recording sessions. Although not as successful as the Offspring's previous albums, Splinter received gold certification two months after its release. The album received average reviews, but still sold reasonably well, debuting at number 30 on the US Billboard 200 with around 87,000 copies sold in its first week. "Hit That" and "(Can't Get My) Head Around You" were the only two singles to accompany the album; "Spare Me the Details" was also released as a single, but charted only in New Zealand. Production and marketing After spending nearly two years supporting the Conspiracy of One album, The Offspring began writing songs for Splinter in late 2002. The recording sessions for the album lasted from January to August 2003, making it the first time The Offspring had recorded an album for that long (although their next album, 2008's Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, took more than a year to record). Three weeks prior to the recording sessions, longtime drummer Ron Welty, who had played on all six of the band's previous albums, left the Offspring to pursue his own band, Steady Ground, but it was later revealed he was fired by Dexter and Noodles "without prior notice." Welty filed a lawsuit against the band in September 10, 2020 for unpaid royalties. Due to the difficulty in finding, or auditioning, for an immediate replacement for Welty on such short notice, the band elected to have session musician Josh Freese - who they met when his band The Vandals was signed by Dexter Holland's label Nitro Records, and happened to be in town right as they would start recording - play drums on the album. Holland noted Freese "did all the drums in just a couple days, and he made it sound like the Offspring, not A Perfect Circle or anything else he does." After the album was finished, Atom Willard was hired to be their tour drummer. Splinter offers a variety of lyrical and musical themes, combining their usual punk rock with experiments into ska and electronic sounds, and comedic songs with heavier themes about fear, paranoia, hopelessness and anxiety. Holland said that “Half this record is pretty much fast, melodic, whatever,