Green Day Dissect the Dark Side of Nostalgia on ‘One Eyed Bastard’

Green Day, renowned for their left-leaning political stances and notable opposition towards former President Trump, have once again caused a stir among conservatives with their new song, "One Eyed Bastard". The new song opens with an archetypical heavy metal riff, transitioning into the signature robust, guitar-heavy anthems famous in their American Idiot era - even having some similarity to their song "Holiday". Lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong in the chorus delivers, "Vendetta is a friend of mine, 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 explaining the song, Armstrong said it started as a riff and developed into reflecting on arduous moments of life: "Nostalgia often makes us think, 'that was an awful time.' We all have that dark period which is marred with ugly thoughts, like revenge. Thank God, I have a medium through songwriting." The song "One Eyed Bastard" is the last release before their 14th studio album, Saviors on January 19, following their 2020 album, Father of All Motherfuckers. The album also includes pre-released songs such as "Dilemma", "The American Dream Is Killing Me", and "Look Ma, No Brains". Green Day have set a major North American summer tour, not only in support of Saviors but also to commemorate the 30th and 20th anniversaries of Dookie and American Idiot respectively. They will start the tour on July 29 in Washington DC, concluding on September 28 in San Diego. The band will be joined by the Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas.