Green Day On How They Made 'Revolution Radio' The 'Old Fashioned Way'

Over the last 16+ years, we've had many great anthems to rock out to thanks to Green Day. And now, the iconic band is getting ready to drop their 12th studio album Revolution Radio on October 7th via Reprise Records.  The new record is the follow-up to 2012's trio of albums ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, and features 12 new songs, including their single "BANG BANG," which iHeartRadio premiered back in August. The song hit the top 10 on many US charts including the US Alternative Chart (3), US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (4), US Hot Rock Songs (8), US Rock Airplay, and reaching the No. 1 spot on the US Mainstream Rock chart. Their latest song "Still Breathing" was also released on September 23rd as a promotional single, and now, the band is off celebrating their album with a US tour, which kicked off in Columbus, Ohio.

We recently learned more about Green Day's new album during a new exclusive interview. The guys talked about the writing/recording process for Revolution Radio, their single "BANG BANG," their favorite songs on the album, and more.

On the writing/recording process for Revolution Radio

Revolution Radio was produced by Green Day and recorded in Oakland, California at Billie Joe Armstrong's OTIS studio. The guys explain that the writing process for the record was "a lot more about being a band in a room, firing off each other, making music the old fashioned way, and really not putting too much pressure on ourselves."

In fact, the guys really "wrote to write this record," as they tell us. Instead of narrowing down the final track list from 70 or 80 songs, the band focused on writing these 12 songs -- something they say they've never really done before. "We've written, just seeing what songs work together, but never really written to actually focus on just 12 songs."

And when fans listen to Revolution Radio, they will be listening to the natural sounds they captured at OTIS. Green Day's Tré Cool says, "It sounds like the room, it sounds like Otis. There's no shmutz on the drums or anything, it's just recorded as its sounds."

Mike Dirnt adds, "Those are the instruments we play on tour. I played one bass and one amp through the entire record. Those are the same guitars that Billie plays on tour, minus a couple of secret weapons. But, really, it's just a band, in a room, firing on all cylinders."

"Bang Bang" was the first single Green Day shared with fans off of Revolution Radio. It was premiered back in August, and was written by Billie. The song is reflective of the many tragedies happening around the world today.

On the meaning behind their lead single "Bang Bang"

"Billie wrote the song, 'Bang Bang.' It's written in the first person of a person who's pretty twisted. That said, it's really just his reflection of the landscape that we're living in right now -- which is some pretty turbulent times when it comes to gun violence and mass shootings."

On Green Day's favorite Revolution Radio songs

"Bang Bang" is actually one of the band's favorite songs on the album, but they have a few other favorites depending on their mood. The guys tell us:

"It's a good ride throughout the whole record. 'Still Breathing' definitely hits home and puts my heart in my throat. And then, also 'Say Goodbye' is a big one for me. That's another song that just seems to really pinpoint the world we're living in right now. And so does "Troubled Times." That's another one that's very telling. Then again, 'Youngblood' makes me want to get in the car and gun it straight into summertime."

On their favorite memories from creating Revolution Radio

Mike: "I think my favorite memory from recording this album was just all of the different moments where you unearthed a new sound, or you found something really ... just sifting through all your ideas and just going for it. For lack of a better term, the 'ah-ha' moments."

Tré: "For me, I think when I left OTIS one day, and I was thinking, 'You know, I think I just played the best drums of my entire life today.' That was pretty cool."

The guys also explained that they got to press their own vinyl, which some something they have never done before. Mike says, "That was fun. We actually got to operate the machines that actually cut the acetate vinyl that all the rest of the vinyl was made from. Pretty amazing."