Green Day 21st Century Breakdown Early Album Review

It has been five years since Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool and Mike Dirnt have released an album together. Now Green Day is back with their latest rock epic 21^st Century Breakdown. The album is broken down into three acts: Heroes and Cons, Charlatans and Saints and Horseshoes and Handgrenades. Each of these acts has a different sonic and musical sound. Will Green Day be able to craft another cohesive classic album?

The first section is Heroes and Cons and opens with the title track 21^st Century Breakdown. The song is definitely a wise choice to open up the rock epic album that follows it. The song features strong instrumentation and a nice melody.

Know Your Enemy has a very distinctive drum sequence throughout the track. The song works well yet is not one of the standout tracks.

Viva La Gloria! features lush string sections before it transforms into an uptempo masterpiece. The song just works on so many levels and the faster the song goes the better it gets.

Charlatans and Saints opens with East Jesus Nowhere. The song features some controversial lyrics which decry the current state of religion.

Peacemaker is another uptempo track which features impressive percussion skills from Tre Cool. The drumming is done at almost a blistering pace.

Last of the American Girls shows that Billie Joe is still an amazing writer. The lyrics on the track are well thought out and keep the listeners attention.

Horseshoes and Handgrenades opens with the title track Horseshoes and Handgrenades. The track is a high energy rock epic that is much more in line with the earlier Green Day. The song is exactly what you expect from the title. The song will definitely do well on contemporary rock stations across the nation.

21 Guns is a very melodic and well produced track. The song finds Billie Joe reaching the upper register of his vocal range with some very pleasant results. The song is decidedly anti-war but does not come across as being preachy.

American Eulogy is pretty much the closest you will find to the punk rock Green Day that first hit the mainstream. The fast paced song is filled with energy and works extremely well.

The album closes with See The Light which starts off the same as 21^st Century Breakdown. It is the perfect way to close out the album as it brings it completely full circle.

21^st Century Breakdown is one of the few albums out there that is better off listened to from start to conclusion in one setting. When you pick individual songs out they do not work as well as they do as a whole album. Overall 21^st Century Breakdown gets 8.5 out of 10. If you are a fan of Green Day make sure you pick up 21^st Century Breakdown when it is available in stores on May 15^th.