Social Distortion Release Long Awaited Eighth Album “Born To Kill”

Orange County’s finest are back with a vengeance: Social Distortion have today released their long awaited eighth full length, Born To Kill, via Epitaph Records. The album is more than the conclusion to a 15-year wait between Social Distortion albums, it’s a revelation: Eleven songs of pure, unadulterated rock ‘n’ roll fury, joy and catharsis, all imbued with the signature blend of defiance and world-weariness that has made founder Mike Ness a poet and sage to the dispossessed for more than 40 years. 

The first Social Distortion album since Ness’ recovery from a bout with cancer, Born To Kill brims with aggressive optimism. The album wastes no time letting the listener know where its heart is, with its title track and mission statement dropping nods to Lou Reed and Iggy and the Stooges and an homage to David Bowie following a few songs later on 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.

Co-produced by Mike Ness and Dave Sardy, and featuring guest appearances from Benmont Tench (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) and Lucinda Williams and collaborative cover art by Mike Ness and Shepard Fairey, Born To Kill is the latest installment in a remarkable catalog that spans nearly three generations, including 1983’s Mommy’s Little Monster, 1988’s Prison Bound, 1990’s Social Distortion, 1992’s Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, 1996’s White Light, White Heat, White Trash, 2004’s Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll 2011’s Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Social Distortion will support Born To Kill with an extensive European tour this Summer, with North American tour dates with The Chats and Descendents commencing later in the Summer