Born to Kill, by Social Distortion
Social Distortion’s eighth studio album, Born to Kill, follows 15 years after its seventh, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes, and 43 years after its first, Mommy’s Little Monster. Somehow, despite all the delays and lineup changes, those three albums and their five counterparts are audible links in the same punk-rock chain.
The man who has always swung that chain is lead singer, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter Mike Ness, whose voice remains an invigoratingly nasal buzzsaw even after Ness had to deal with tonsil cancer in 2023. He’s now 64 years old, but his singing isn’t evidence of that.
Neither are the 10 original songs Ness wrote for Born to Kill: after an expectant feedback lead-in and a guitar riff sharp enough to draw blood, the opening title track gives purposeful shout-outs to heritage (Lou Reed’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal and the Stooges’ “Search and Destroy”), while “Tonight” recharges the springy rhythms Ness likes when he’s lovelorn.
Age manifests in the wistfulness of “The Way Things Were,” a midtempo, simplified-Springsteen look back; the restatement of principles—“you got three chords and you got the truth”—in “Partners in Crime,” a ringing potential anthem; and the old-fashioned country-rock of “Crazy Dreamer,” a sideways rewrite of “Making Believe” enlivened by the vocal accompaniment of Lucinda Williams.
In 1992, Social Distortion covered and sped up “Making Believe.” Now, it delivers a straight-ahead version of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game,” with Ness earthier and more scarred than Isaak was.
The rest of Social Distortion—rhythm guitarist Jonny Wickersham (58), bassist Brent Harding (59), and drummer David Hidalgo Jr. (41)—draws power from the frontman’s youthful energy and cranks it back toward him.
With that juice, Mike Ness keeps Social Distortion wired and humming. He might carry the Social Distortion chain, but without the other musicians, he couldn’t have forged the link that is Born to Kill.
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Get Born to Kill on Amazon here.
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