Green Day Announce New Album, Share New Single 'Bang Bang'

Punk rock icons Green Day are back with brand new music following a three-year studio silence. Their new album Revolution Radio has been given a release date and the band has shared the first single from the record.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Billie Joe Armstrong spoke of the experience that granted the album its title:

Two years ago, Billie Joe Armstrong was driving into Manhattan when he came across a throng of protesters. Outraged by a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer for the killing of Michael Brown, they filled the streets and backed up traffic for miles. Armstrong was inspired. ‘I got out of my car and marched with the people,’ he says. ‘It was a trip to see people rebel against the old order.’
— Rolling Stone

Despite it's political background, Armstrong continued to say the album isn't strictly driven as such: there are more personal tracks on it, such as the teased 'Still Breathing' and the relatable 'Too Dumb To Die', but, Armstrong claims there are many tracks that press on current social issues as well. The album's first single, 'Bang Bang' was inspired by "the culture of mass shooting that happens in America mixed with narcissistic social media," and features blistering guitar riffs and a driving beat. The album concludes on the previously revealed 'Ordinary World', a short and sweet track Armstrong has performed live in the past.

The album is also said to contain some experimentation, such as the use of bow guitar on 'Outlaws' and 'Forever Now'. The whole recording process, according to Armstrong, took around six months. The songs on the record evolved from metaphor to having literal meaning, as if the lyrics were predicting the future, as he put it.

Revolution Radio is the band's first record since the infamous trilogy of ¡Uno!¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, and the band's first self-produced record since 2000's Warning. The album is due out on October 7th. The album's artwork can be seen above and the tracklist is as follows:

  1. Somewhere Now
  2. Bang Bang
  3. Revolution Radio
  4. Say Goodbye
  5. Outlaws
  6. Bouncing Off The Wall
  7. Still Breathing
  8. Youngblood
  9. Too Dumb To Die
  10. Troubled Times
  11. Forever Now
  12. Ordinary World

Are you ready for the new Green Day record? Check out the track review for the lead single 'Bang Bang', too!