Rancid's got staying power

But on the rare occasion when the two sides can agree, the exception to both rules tends to be something special. Punk-rock veterans Rancid, whose reggae- and pop-influenced brand of punk has filled both small clubs and huge concert venues, are a prime example.

On Tuesday Rancid will release its seventh album, "Let the Dominoes Fall," an eclectic mix of styles that best showcases the band's wide range and broad appeal since its 1995 platinum-selling album, ". . .And Out Come the Wolves."

"We all love so many different types of music, and when the four of us get together creatively, that comes out in the writing," Rancid bassist Matt Freeman says recently from Epitaph Records, the independent punk label the band still calls home after 16 years. "As a band, we always want to try new things and move forward with our songwriting."

The album's first single, "Last One to Die," is an upbeat, hook-laden testament to the band's longevity. "We got it right, you got it wrong/ We're going up, you're going down," slurs frontman Tim Armstrong, a lyrical jab at those who wrote the band off as a one-trick pony years ago.

But offsetting the song's bravado and punkish venom are a catchy, jangling guitar riff and shout-along chorus that would sound as natural on a radio-friendly Rancid record from the mid-'90s as it does today.

The ability to sound so familiar, while retaining a contemporary edge, is what makes "Let the Dominoes Fall," and Rancid as a band, so enduring. And while Freeman says any comparisons between Rancid's latest record and earlier works aren't unfounded, it has more to do with the group's songwriting process than trying to re-create a specific sound.

"Of course there will be similarities because it's us writing and playing the songs," he says. "But we just got together and wrote. We never sat down and said, 'Let's write a song that sounds like 'Wolves.' "

The communal writing process behind "Let the Dominoes Fall" was more collaborative than past Rancid records, which drummer Branden Steineckert says helped create the disc's contemporary, yet somewhat familiar style.

"There was a very songwriter approach to the writing," says Steineckert. "The four of us getting together, with different ideas and arrangements, and then picking our favorite songs to go on the album, it had a very natural feel to it and may also be responsible for some similarities."

The most notable comparison is the album's ability to embrace many musical elements and meld them with Rancid's signature brand of singalong punk rock. It's an effective songwriting technique, one that catapulted the once-underground band into mainstream popularity more than a decade ago.

The band's 1995 breakthrough album was well received by both critics and fans and produced a string of radio hits. Along with seminal records from Green Day and the Offspring, ". . . And Out Come the Wolves" has been credited with kick-starting the American punk-rock revival of the mid-'90s, which took the genre from rundown squats and small sweaty clubs and exposed it to suburban masses.

In the 14 years since ". . . And Out Come the Wolves" introduced Rancid to commercial radio and the MTV generation, the band has released three more albums. But despite the versatility of these records - from the reggae-drenched world beat of 1998's "Life Won't Wait" to the hardcore blast of the band's 2001 self-titled release - each album has a unique sound that is still distinctively Rancid.

According to Brett Gurewitz, the band's longtime producer and founder of Epitaph Records, Rancid's natural ability to combine styles without having to adapt to trends sets them apart from many of their peers.

"They don't have that kind of genre dependency that a lot of punk bands do," Gurewitz says. "They're the punk-rock band you can still dance to."

To promote "Let the Dominoes Fall" Rancid will embark on a 33-city tour this summer (including two nights at the House on Blues July 28-29) opening for Rise Against, a Chicago-based punk band whose hardcore rock has endeared it to both underground music fans and commercial radio listeners. It's a formula Rancid perfected more than a decade and a half ago.

You could argue bands like Rise Against are deeply indebted to Rancid for kicking down the barriers that once separated punk rock from mass appeal, but the members of Rancid remain humble about their influence.

"We're stoked [Rise Against] asked us to go on the road with them," says Freeman. "They're a great band, and we're anxious to go out there on stage every night and do what we do. We're just happy to be a part of the tour."