It's been six years since Rancid released Indestructible and, in the time since, the band has weathered so many storms that it was questionable if they were ever coming back. The list of troubles that the band has experienced is not short: bassist Matt Freeman was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 which abbreviated his touring Social Distortion as well as work on this newest Rancid release, drummer Brett Reed left the band in 2006 (his replacement, Branden Steineckert, has been with the band ever since) and complications with record labels further hobbled the band. In addition to that, frontman Tim Armstrong began concentrating more on his boutique label, Hellcat Records, and stayed busy musically by releasing a solo album as well as lending his songwriting and production talents to the likes of Skye Sweetnam, The Matches, Pink, Left Alone, Time Again and Agnostic Front. With all of the extra-curricular activity, health issues and departures, the future didn't look good for Rancid by 2006 and, when compilations like B Sides And C Sides [released on Rancid Records in 2007 –ed] started to surface in order to assuage fans (some speculated that it might be the band's way of letting them down easy), the rumors that the band was on life support only seemed to get further substantiated.
Today though, the news came down: work on Rancid's seventh studio album, Let The Dominoes Fall, is finally complete and the record will be released on June 2, 2009. A tour with Rise Against is scheduled to follow and kicks off on June 4th in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Recorded at George Lucas' Skywalker Sound Studio and produced by Epitaph Records founder/Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz, Let The Dominoes Fall features nineteen all-new songs with a special guest appearance by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Booker T (of Booker T and The MGs), who contributes Hammond B3 organ to “Up To No Good.”
“The crew is back doing what we do best,” says Armstrong in a recent press release. “We approached every element of this record as a team, and the result is my favorite Rancid record to date.”
It’s also Rancid's most topical album. From the unflinching observations of “This Place,” “Lulu” and “Locomotive” – all of which presage the current economic meltdown – to “The Bravest Kids” which rails against media’s kid-glove treatment of the Iraq war and the mostly acoustic “Civilian Ways,” (inspired by the soldier’s journey of Armstrong’s brother to Iraq), Let The Dominoes Fall is a welcome return that also has the benefit of being very, very timely.
“Last One To Die,” the first single from the new album, will premiere on April 7 via a widget available now on Rancid’s myspace page (see link below). Fans can register to get a personal embed code and then spread the widget to other sites. Every time someone enters valid info into the widget a point will be allotted. The twenty-five people with the most points will receive a pair of free tickets to see Rancid on tour this summer with Rise Against.
LET THE DOMINOES FALL TRACKLIST:
1. East Bay Night
2. This Place
3. Up To No Good
4. Last One To Die
5. Disconnected
6. I Ain't Worried
7. Damnation
8. New Orleans
9. Civilian Ways
10. The Bravest Kids
11. Skull City
12. L.A. River
13. Lulu
14. Dominoes Fall
15. Liberty and Freedom
16. You Want It, You Got It
17. Locomotive
18. That's Just The Way It Is Now
19. The Highway
Artist:
Rancid official web site
Rancid myspace
Tour:
To check out the listing of confirmed dates for Rancid's 2009 tour with Rise Against, go here .
Album:
Let The Dominoes Fall will be released via Hellcat/Epitaph records on June 2, 2009. It is not yet available for pre-order.
