Social Distortion has unleashed ‘Partners In Crime’, the second advance taste of its long-awaited eighth album, ‘Born To Kill.’ “‘Partners In Crime’ is about finding your voice, especially if you weren’t allowed or if it didn’t matter,” says Social Distortion founder Mike Ness. “And finding comfort in others who share the same sentiment, angst and rage. Strength in unity.”
Set for release May 8th 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 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).
Upcoming tour dates:
June 3rd – Sentrum Scene – Oslo, NO
June 4th – Sweden Rock – Solvesborg, SE
June 6th – Rock Im Park – Nurnberg, DE
June 7th – Rock Am Ring – Nurburg, DE
June 9th – Columbiahalle – Berlin, DE
June 11th – Rock For People – Hradec Kralove, CZ
June 12th – Nova Rock Festival – Nickelsdorf, AT
June 14th – Download Festival – Donington, UK
June 16th – Koko – London, UK
June 18th – Hellfest – Clisson, FR
June 20th – Azkena Rock Festival – Vitoria-Gasteiz, ES
June 23rd – Carroponte – Milan, IT
June 24th – Halle 622 – Zurich, CH
June 26th – Vainstream – Munster, DE
June 27th – Copenhell – Copenhagen, DK
June 29th – Amsterdamse Bos Theatre – Amsterdam, NL
June 30th – Docks – Hamburg, DE
July 2nd – Les Eurockéennes – Belfort, FR
July 3rd – Rock Werchter – Werchter, BE
July 4th – Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion – Dresden, DE