THE OLD FIRM CASUALS have a brand new video which they're premiering exclusively with Vive Le Rock!
The rousing 'Motherland' is taken from the San Francisco street-punks' new album Holger Danske, which is set for release through Pirates Press Records.
Since being put together by RANCID frontman Lars Frederiksen in 2010, Old Firm Casuals have released more than a dozen EPs and split singles, as well as full-length debut This Means War, in 2014. They've since been joined by virtuoso guitarist Gabe Gavriloff for what they believe is their finest work yet.
Taking its inspiration from Frederiksen's Danish roots, the album is named after one of the country's national heroes. “There’s not much known about him, although he was a real guy," explains Frederiksen. "As the fable goes, he lives in the basement of a castle, and when Denmark is attacked, he will rise out of his chair and defend Denmark. In World War II, my uncle Vigo joined a Danish resistance movement called Holger Danske to fight against the Nazis. The Danish national team even put Holger Danske on their World Cup jersey.”
Not backward in sharing his opinions, Frederiksen has once again used his lyrics to give voice to his feelings on the sate of the world. “I used to think people like George Bush and Ronald Reagan were bad, but now they got this fuckin’ guy?” he says, exasperated. “I do my talking in music; I don’t try to preach to people. I think it turns people off. But music is a place where I can be artistic and also have my own opinion. A lot of these songs have this underlying theme of your immortality, and how temporary this life we lead is, and the fighting of oppression and fascism.”
The band are touring the UK and Ireland to coincide with the album release, kicking off in Belfast on 31 January. Catch them at...
THUR 31 JAN - EMPIRE MUSIC HALL - BELFAST
FRI 1 FEB - BUTTON FACTORY - DUBLIN
SAT 2 FEB - JACARANDA RECORDS PHASE ONE - LIVERPOOL
SUN 3 FEB - THE HAIRY DOG - DERBY
TUES 5 FEB - BANNERMAN’S - EDINBURGH
WED 6 FEB - AUDIO - GLASGOW
THUR 7 FEB - RIVERSIDE - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
FRI 8 FEB - STAR & GARTER - MANCHESTER
SAT 9 FEB - LYMEDALE BAR & RESTAURANT - NEWCASTLE UNDER LYME
SUN 10 FEB - THE CASTLE & FALCON - BIRMINGHAM
TUES 12 FEB - THE KEY CLUB - LEEDS
WED 13 FEB - ESQUIRES - BEDFORD
THUR 14 FEB - THE FLEECE - BRISTOL
FRI 15 FEB - THE FLAG - WATFORD
SAT 16 FEB - UNDERWORLD - LONDON
Holger Danske will be released digitally on 15 February through all the usual platforms, with a physical release on 15 March through Pirates Press Records in the US and Demons Run Amok in Europe.
Pic by Morizen Foche