VIKING, the second solo release from Rancid singer/guitar-slinger Lars Frederiksen, backed by his band the Bastards, is stuffed to the gills with in-your-face punk attitude. Jackhammer drums, half-chanted/half-shouted vocals, and power chords ripped off like automatic gunfire all do their best to keep the punk flame burning. The lyrical subject matter never waxes too philosophical, as Frederiksen's themes are primarily limited to weapons ("Switchblade"), fighting ("Fight"), murder ("Mainlining Murder"), and, now and then, the fairer sex ("Little Rude Girl").
Every once in a while, the Bastards kick it up old-school style, as on the Ramones-esque "For You," and the 1950s-themed rockabilly number "Marie Marie." Frederiksen's Rancid cohort Tim Armstrong (who also produced the album), takes a turn on vocals on "My Life to Live," a tribute to easy women that bears more than a passing resemblance to a Pogues number. But Frederiksen's homages are offered in the loving name of gung-ho rock & roll, and VIKING delivers that spirit in kind.
