Fifteen years is a long time to wait. From Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes to Born to Kill, Social D has come out swinging.

Released on May 8, 2026, Born to Kill clocks in at 45 minutes across 11 tracks, recorded between 2023 and 2026. Driven by gritty riffs and the unmistakable voice of a cancer-free Mike Ness, the record leans into the band’s signature mix of streetwise punk, roots rock swagger, and melodic grit. Defiant, stripped-down, and unmistakably Social Distortion. It’s got some of both the old and the new Social D, mixing the old school Prison Bound sound into the cleaner, louder, still-punching drive they brought to Hard Times and Sex, Love and Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The road to Born to Kill was anything but smooth. Ness was diagnosed with tonsil cancer in June 2023, and the album marks his first new music since his recovery. Speaking at the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas show last December, Ness opened up about how close to the edge things got:

“I was afraid I was gonna not gonna live. I’ve been through some hard things in my life in some dangerous situations, as you can imagine, but nothing like that. My voice is stronger than it’s ever been. So every show is great because I’m singing like there’s no tomorrow.”

That urgency bleeds into every track. Born to Kill brims with aggressive optimism, 11 songs of rock and roll 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.

Ness wrote every track on the album, with production handled by himself and Dave Sardy. The band tracked the record at Sunset Sound (Studio 3), where James Monti engineered and edited the sessions.

Social Distortion isn’t wasting any time getting back on the road. The band has a run of festival and headlining dates in the UK and Europe beginning in June, before a massive North American leg kicks off later in the summer. Special guests for select dates include the Descendents and The Chats. Tickets are on sale now through the band’s official website.