Punk rock has been a staple of the music world for the best part of 40 years now, and it has seen a lot of changes in its time. Bands have come and gone, fashion became more important than passion, and ideals fell by the wayside in favour of fame and fortune. There is one band though, that even when they made a brief trip over to a major label always remained true to their sound and true to themselves like a real punk should. That band is Rancid, and even though they have faced many professional and personal ups and down’s over their 25 year career, they are still the epitome of punk. Now they have returned with their long-awaited eighth album ‘…Honor Is All We Know’ and rather unsurprisingly, the California punks have done exactly what every one had hoped they would do; make a Rancid album.
It has taken Rancid a while to get to ‘…Honor Is All We Know’, what with the various members embarking on other projects, but the follow up to 2009’s ‘Let The Dominoes Fall’ does not disappoint. From the moment the opening battle cry ‘Back Where I Belong’ kicks in you are instantly in familiar territory, and it feels like you are being reunited with an old friend. The trademark galloping of Matt Freeman’s bass greets you with a firm handshake, and the dual vocal shouts from Lars Frederiksen and Tim Armstrong remind you of everything you love about them. As with any of their albums, the songs come thick and fast, barely give you a chance to breath with its unrelenting punk rock charm that only the quartet from Berkley CA possess, particularly on ‘Collision Course’ which really is classic Rancid. Even when they pay homage to their ska and dub influences on ‘Evil Is My Friend’ it flies from your stereo into you ears, then back out again as the albums title track hits after it before you have blinked. The average song length on ‘…Honor Is All We Know’ is around two minutes, but lets face it, you weren’t expecting a Pink Floyd record or anything were you?
Never ones to forget where they came from and the bands that paved the way for them, Rancid of course tip their cap to Oi! punk with nods towards British punk icons Sham 69 and Cocksparrer on ‘A Power Inside’ and ‘In The Streets’. It would also be criminal to overlook the backbone of the band in Branden Steineckert who is an absolute machine through ‘Already Dead’ and ‘Diabolical’, clearly becoming an integral part of the bands creative process now. They also bring it down a notch with the reggae vibes of ‘Everybody’s Sufferin’ before blasting through the rapid urgency of closing track ‘Grave Digger’.
When you reach the end of ‘…Honor Is All We know’ its hard to believe that you have just listened to 14 tracks in 30 minutes, but this is punk rock at its finest that never outstays it’s welcome. There are no gimmicks or tricks here, just pure passion and honesty that we have come to know and love from Rancid. When people argue about who the greats of punk rock are such as The Clash, Ramones, and Sex Pistols its time to start mentioning them among the legends because ‘…Honor Is All We Know’ is another timeless and important part of Rancid’s story.
GLEN BUSHELL