Fans of modern punk-rock often say that The Wonder Years are a joke of a band and don’t have what it takes to sustain themselves in the industry. But with their new album “The Greatest Generation,” The Wonder Years are proving that not only do they belong in the scene, they are about to take it over.

The last installment of the band’s me vs. the world trilogy, “The Greatest Generation,” does not disappoint from start to finish. Between the honest heartfelt lyrics of singer-songwriter Dan “Soupy” Campbell, to the perfectly mixed melodies, the album is an epic powerhouse of emotion.

In their first two albums, “The Upsides” and “Suburbia,” The Wonder Years set the stage for the modern punk-rock anthem, filled with fined tuned guitar rips and tattoo-worthy lyrics. The new album encompasses all the great elements of those albums, but infuses them with a new sense of passion and maturity.

The opening notes of the first song set the tone for the entire album. You can hear Campbell’s vulnerability as he gently breathes the first verse,”You’re just trying to read, but I’m always standing in your light. You’re just trying to sleep, but I always wake you up to apologize.” A softer TWY then fans are used to, the riffing guitars and bold beats of drummer Mike Kennedy’s snare break into the second verse. Then Campbell belts out the chorus in his trademark raspy yell. In two and a half minutes you get the best The Wonder Years have to offer: raw emotion wrapped up in a crowd-surfing, pit thrashing track.

Each song that follows is an outpour of Campbell’s emotion contrasted with upbeat music. Campbell has never shied away from what is on his mind and in his heart. And that couldn’t be more evident than in “Dismantling Summer,” which discusses the toll his grandfather’s illness took on him. But this is not the track that will break your tear ducts; that honor is reserved for Campbell’s duet with Laura Steveson in “The Devil in my Bloodstream.”

An accompaniment unlike anything The Wonder Years have done before, the softness of the former Bomb! The Music Industry keyboardist’s voice is thrown against Campbell’s in an intimate, yet powerful manner. His voice-cracking cry of “I know how it feels to be at war with a world that never loved me,” is enough to make you breakdown mid-song.

Even with tracks so emotionally powerful, there isn’t a moment in the album where pounding drums, throbbing basslines and unforgiving guitar chords are not assaulting your eardrums in true punk-rock fashion.

Songs like “Passing Through a Screen Door” borrows the classic feel of “The Upsides” and “Suburbia,” yet pushes the limit in an entirely new way. The middle of the album is where the talent of the Wonder Years really shine with songs like “Chaser” and “An American Religion (FSF),” that are sure to be instant scene favorites.

The best part of “The Greatest Generation” is the end, but that’s not a bad thing. The final track, “I Just Want to Sell Out My Funeral,” is the culmination of the album’s lyrical perfection. In a seven minute opus, the song addresses one-liners and melodies from every song on the album, while juxtaposing them between numerous references from “The Upsides” and “Suburbia.” The last line of song is sure to bring a tear, and evoke an emotion all of us have felt, “I just want to know that I did all I could with what I was given.”

This album is not only The Wonders Years’ best to date, but it is easily the best album to come out of the genre this year. It is more than just an “emo” diary set to guitars: it’s about figuring out who you are, being content and striving to be better. There isn’t a lyric we won’t be screaming at the top of our lungs, an emotion we haven’t had before or a beat that won’t have us banging our heads. The Wonder Years are at the top of their game and there is now where to go but up.

“The Greatest Generation” is available in-stores and online. Pick up a copy now, learn all the lyrics and catch the band on the Van’s Warped Tour this summer. This album is ridiculous in my stereo, I can only imagine how epic it would be live.