Now this is what you call a blast from the past.

On their re-energized fifth album, the boys in Rancid sound like they have something to prove. And maybe they do. Word is this decade-old Bay Area punk foursome were kinda ticked at the tepid reception given their last disc, the ambitious 1998 offering Life Won't Wait. Apparently some critics and so-called fans weren't thrilled that the Clash-inspired outfit pushed the punk envelope with generous helpings of ska, reggae and blues. (Just for the record, we weren't among the detractors; we picked the disc as one of the best albums of the year.) So, the story goes, Rancid decided that if it's old-school punk rock the kids want, it's old-school punk rock they'll get -- right between the eyes.

That's precisely what the band -- singer-guitarists Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederiksen, bassist Matt Freeman and drummer Brett Reed -- deliver in spades on this relentlessly blistering self-titled album, another contender for best-of-the-year honours. With 22 incendiary firebombs of pure punk power and bravado jam-packed into just 38 frenzied minutes, Rancid the album finds Rancid the band coming full circle -- returning to the streamlined, in-your-face style of their original self-titled 1993 album, reconnecting with their hardcore roots in '80s outfits such as Operation Ivy and U.K. Subs and renewing their vows to the punk rock credo of louder, harder and faster.

Especially faster. This album hits the ground running faster than Donovan Bailey going for the gold, blasting through two songs -- the explosive Don Giovanni and Disgruntled -- in little more than 90 seconds. And that's just the warmup. For the next half-hour, the band never breaks stride and barely even pauses for breath, furiously barreling their way through nearly two dozen top-shelf hardcore anthems with an intensity so unwavering it becomes exhausting. At the midway point of just 19 minutes, we were already wondering how long they could keep this up -- the full-tilt, thrashing pogo beats, the mile-a-minute guitar lines, the double-time bass licks, the hoarse, yelling-at-the-top-of-their-lungs vocals. The answer is, of course, all the way to the end of the line. And if you can't keep pace, you'll be dumped on the side of the road, spat on and ridiculed.

You won't be alone. Along the way, the band fires drive-by potshots at some of the expected targets: Organized religion (Corruption); wheeler-dealers (Antennas); trendy bands (Rattlesnake); the American military (Blackhawk Down); mass media (Rigged on a Fix); and third-world politics (Rwanda). About the only target they neglect is the one they really should have taken a poke at -- fickle punk-rock fans who were stupid enough to accuse them of going soft.

Well, those ingrates have nothing to complain about now. And if they do, they'd best keep it to themselves; frankly, we don't think Rancid could kick it up another notch without doing themselves serious injury.

Track Listing 1.Don Giovanni
  02.Disgruntled
  03.It's Quite Alright
  04.Let Me Go
  05.I Am Forever
  06.Poison
  07.Loki
  08.Blackhawk Down
  09.Rwanda
  10.Corruption
  11.Antennas
  12.Rattlesnake
  13.NOT TO REGRET
  14.Radio Havana
  15.Axiom
  16.Black Derby Jacket
  17.Meteor Of War
  18.Dead Bodies
  19.Rigged On A Fix
  20.Young Al Capone
  21.Reconciliation
  22.Golden Gate Fields