Rancid is an American
punk rock band formed in
Berkeley, California, in 1991. Founded by 1980s punk veterans
Tim Armstrong and
Matt Freeman, who previously played in the highly influential
ska punk band
Operation Ivy, Rancid is often credited, along with
Green Day and
the Offspring, for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the
United States and bringing punk rock into the mainstream during the mid-1990s. Unlike many of their contemporaries, however, Rancid remained signed to an independent record label and retained much of its original fan-base, most of which was connected to its
underground roots.