Punk Legends Social Distortion Announce New Album 'Born To Kill'

Official Announcement | Published: Feb 25, 2026 2:53 PM EST

(NLM) Orange County's finest are back with a vengeance: Social Distortion's long-awaited eighth album, Born To Kill, will be released May 8, 2026 via Epitaph Records. To pre-order the album and/or hear the hard-charging title track that's been lighting up crowds at the band's shows for the last several months, go to https://socialdistortion.ffm.to/borntokill

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 sh*t."

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).

As announced yesterday, Social Distortion will support Born To Kill with an extensive North American tour. The tour kicks off August 25 in Phoenix and plays a total of 23 shows in 21 cities before concluding October 3 in San Diego. For support, tickets and further information, see below or go to https://www.socialdistortion.com/tours

SOCIAL DISTORTION
North America
Fall 2026

August 25 - Phoenix, AZ - Arizona Financial Theatre *
August 28 - Austin, TX - Moody Amphitheater *
August 29 - Dallas, TX - The Bomb Factory *
August 31 - Nashville, TN - The Pinnacle *
September 1 - Atlanta, GA - Coca-Cola Roxy *
September 3 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz *
September 4 - Washington, DC - The Anthem *
September 5 - Asbury Park, NJ - The Stone Pony Summer Stage *
September 8 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark *
September 9 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner *
September 11 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount *
September 12 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount *
September 14 - Toronto, ONT - HISTORY *
September 17 - Detroit, MI - The Filmore Detroit *
September 20 - Minneapolis, MN - The Armory *
September 22 - Denver, CO - The Mission Ballroom *
September 23 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Union Event Center *
September 25 - Las Vegas, NV - The Chelsea at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas *
September 26 - Reno, NV - Grand Sierra Resort - Grand Theatre *
September 2 -8 San Francisco, CA - The Masonic *
October 1 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium #
October 2 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium #
October 3 - San Diego, CA - Gallagher Square at Petco Park *

# The Descendents support
* The Descendents and The Chats support