"The first major interview since ending their tour for 2004's multi-platinum album American Idiot, the band open up about their new, Butch Vig-produced disc, the influences behind the tracks and their expectations for both themselves and for the world's response. "There's nothing to prove anymore," singer/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong tells AP. "We're just trying to show we have this spirit that rock 'n' roll can change lives, and it really is a religious experience that means something to us. It's more about faith now."

AP visited Green Day in the studio and had the chance to hear some of the new tracks. They mention that there are three Act’s in this album (Act 1- “ Heroes and Cons”; Act 2 – “Charlatans and Saints” - Act 3 "Horseshoes and Handgrenades"). Some of it is political, but most of it very much personal. They talk about 7 songs they heard (of 16 the band has). The song "March of the Dogs" is a "religious rant", while the song "21st Century Breakdown" is a bit more personal, but still talking about how the American dream seems to fade away. A “ piano-driven love ballad ” called “Last Night On Earth” where Billie talks about it being a romantic moment with more between the lines.
They mention the new album seems to be in line for a spring release.

I love the sound of a great amplifier with a great old microphone that's plugged into a great preamp and hardly needs any EQ. It's just more soulful to me.
You know, it's like, how do you take something--and it could be anything from the Creation and the Who to the Beatles to Cheap Trick to the Jam--and try to expand on the idea of what is supposed to be three-chord mayhem? And how do you do it in a way where the arrangements are just unpredictable? So I'm pushing myself to be progressive in songwriting and being a songwriter. I come from a culture where I'm into great albums, and I still believe in that.