Orange County’s Social Distortion returns with its first album in 15 years with Born to Kill. Armed with 11 urgent songs, Mike Ness continues to build on the mystique that Social Distortion is more than just a punk band. Throughout the collection, Ness revisits the sounds of the 1970s, his formative adolescent years. Born to Kill is a continuation of the bar of excellence that Social Distortion and, in turn, Ness has long been praised for.
Born to Kill is a body of work that will live long in the Social Distortion catalog. Songs like the hard-charging title track that serves as the album’s mission statement, along with the riff-laden “Partners in Crime,” the nostalgic “The Way Things Were,” and rollicking “Tonight” are songs that fit in across any of Social Distortion’s various eras. Now nearly five decades into its career and with a remarkable catalog spanning nearly three generations, Social Distortion has no intention of slowing down any time soon.
