Social Distortion - Born To Kill

Released May 8 via Epitaph, Born To Kill is more than the conclusion to a 15-year wait between Social Distortion albums, it’s a revelation: 11 songs of pure, unadulterated rock fury, joy and catharsis, all imbued with the signature blend of defiance and world-weariness that has made Mike Ness a poet and sage to the dispossessed for more than 40 years.

Hailed by ROLLING STONE as “still full of piss and vinegar,” Born To Kill wastes no time letting the listener know where its heart is: its hard-charging title track — closing in on 3 million streams in the month since it dropped — paying respects to Lou Reed (“Rock ’n’ Roll Animal gonna come your way!”) and Iggy and the Stooges (“The agenda is yeah to Search and Destroy”) and lionizing David Bowie (“It’s a Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide”) on the newly released “Partners In Crime.” This is a man, a band, and a record that wear their influences proudly while creating timeless anthems and ballads that both chart Social Distortion’s path forward and celebrate its storied past: “Tonight” and “The Way Things Were” are emotionally charged reminiscences in the vein of classics like “Story of My Life” from the band’s eponymous 1990 breakthrough and “I Was Wrong” from 1996’s White Light, White Heat, White Trash, the latter containing a potent distillation of the Social D ethos: “I wrote a song with a stolen riff / If you ain’t got a song you ain’t got shit.”

Co-produced by Ness and Dave Sardy, and featuring guest appearances from Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Lucinda Williams, and collaborative cover art by Ness and Shepard Fairey, Born To Kill is the latest installment in a remarkable catalog that spans nearly three generations, including Mommy’s Little Monster (1983), Prison Bound (1988), the RIAA gold-certified Social Distortion (1990) and Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell (1992), White Light, White Heat, White Trash (1996), Sex, Love and Rock ’n’ Roll (2004), and Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes (2011).

Social Distortion will support Born To Kill with an extensive North American tour, featuring support from The Descendents and The Chats. The tour kicks off August 25 in Phoenix and plays a total of 25 shows in 22 cities before concluding October 3 in San Diego. See full details HERE and contact us with any requests!