Rancid

Rancid is an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California, active since 1991. The group forms around Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, who both previously play in Operation Ivy. Its lineup also includes Lars Frederiksen and Branden Steineckert, with Brett Reed as an original member on drums before Steineckert takes over in 2006. The band’s established members are Tim Armstrong, Matt Freeman, Lars Frederiksen, Brett Reed and Branden Steineckert.

Style and background

The band is identified with punk, punk rock, ska punk and street punk. It builds on underground punk roots while also reaching a wider audience during the mid-1990s punk revival in the United States, alongside Green Day and the Offspring. Despite this broader exposure, Rancid keeps a strong link to its earlier audience.

Recorded output

Rancid’s first album is recorded by the original trio of Armstrong, Freeman and Reed. Frederiksen joins during the tour that follows. The band releases ten studio albums, one split album, one compilation and two extended plays, as well as a series of live online releases, and appears on numerous compilation albums.

Its second studio album, Let’s Go, brings it wider attention in 1994 and includes “Salvation”. In 1995, ...And Out Come the Wolves includes “Roots Radicals”, “Ruby Soho” and “Time Bomb”; it is certified gold and later platinum in the United States and sells more than one million copies there. Later albums include Life Won’t Wait, Rancid, Indestructible, Let the Dominoes Fall, ...Honor Is All We Know, Trouble Maker and Tomorrow Never Comes.

Labels and legacy

Rancid releases material through Rancid Records, Epitaph and Hellcat Records. The band sells more than four million records worldwide and remains one of the most widely recognised groups associated with US punk rock in the 1990s.