Track will appear on the band’s upcoming 14th studio album, Saviors
Fresh off of somehow managing to shock conservatives with their famously anti-Trump, left-of-center political views, Green Day are back with a new song, “One Eyed Bastard.”
The track begins with a classic heavy metal riff before launching into the kind of bruising, big guitar anthems Green Day was delivering on American Idiot (the careening power chords even bear a slight resemblance to “Holiday”). “Vendetta is a friend of mine,” Billie Joe Armstrong bellows on the chorus, “Revenge is sweeter than wine/I never asked to hear your God damn feelings/Get on your knees when you’re kissing my ring.”
In a statement, Armstrong said “One Eyed Bastard” began as just a riff, “a shuffle, almost like a Black Sabbath kind of riff.” He continued: “Lyrically, I was just reflecting on bad times in life. That’s the thing about nostalgia, sometimes you think, ‘That was an awful time.’ Everybody’s got that ugly place in their life where they have to deal with ugly thoughts — it could be like revenge or whatever. Thankfully, I have an outlet in songwriting.”
“One Eyed Bastard” is the last song Green Day will share before the release of their 14th studio album, Saviors, arriving Jan. 19. The LP — which marks Green Day’s first since 2020’s Father of All Motherfuckers — also features previously-released offerings like “Dilemma,” “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” and “Look Ma, No Brains.”
Green Day have also scheduled a massive North American summer tour in support of Saviors and also to celebrate the respective 30th and 20th anniversaries of Dookie and American Idiot. The trek kicks off July 29 in Washington, D.C., and wraps Sept. 28 in San Diego. Green Day will receive support from the Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas.
