SOCIAL DISTORTION 

'BORN TO KILL' 

NEW ALBUM OUT 8 MAY

TITLE TRACK OUT NOW - WATCH VIDEO 

 EUROPEAN TOUR THIS SUMMER 

INCLUDING DOWNLOAD FESTIVAL AND LONDON HEADLINE SHOW 

Orange County’s finest are back with a vengeance: Social Distortion’s long-awaited eighth album, 'Born To Kill,' will be released on 8 May 2026 via Epitaph Records. The hard-charging title track that’s been lighting up crowds at the band’s shows for the last several months is out now. Pre-order the new album here.

WATCH 'BORN TO KILL'

VIDEO HERE

LISTEN HERE

'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 ’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 ("Rock ’n’ Roll Animal gonna come your way!”) and Iggy and the Stooges (“The agenda is yeah to Search and Destroy”) and an homage to David Bowie (“It’s a Rock ’n’ Roll Suicide”) 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, 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.” 

 Photo credit: JonathanWeiner

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 European tour this Summer, including two UK dates at Download Festival and London's Koko. The tour will also cover Norway, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, and Benelux.

03 June - Sentrum Scene - Oslo, Norway

04 June - Sweden Rock - Solvesborg, Sweden

06 June - Rock Im Park - Nürnberg, Germany

07 June - Rock Am Ring - Nurburg, Germany

09 June - Columbiahalle - Berlin, Germany

11 June - Rock For People - Hradec Králové, Czech Republic

12 June - Nova Rock Festival - Nickelsdorf, Austria

14 June - Download Festival - Donington, United Kingdom

16 June - Koko - London, United Kingdom

18 June - Hellfest - Clisson, France

20 June - Azkena Rock Festival - Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain

23 June - Carroponte - Milan, Italy

24 June - Halle 622 - Zurich, Switzerland

26 June - Vainstream - Munster, Germany

27 June - Copenhell - Copenhagen, Denmark

29 June - Amsterdamse Bos Theatre - Amsterdam, Netherlands

30 June - Docks - Hamburg, Germany

02 July - Les Eurockéennes - Belfort, France

03 July - Rock Werchter - Werchter, Belgium

04 July - Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion - Dresden, Germany

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE 

PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE 'BORN TO KILL' HERE

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