Social Distortion More Than Endures Its Past

A decade ago, being loaded in the worst way nearly turned Social Distortion into an obscure footnote in punk rock’s history. Now, loaded in the best way--with more top-grade material than the band could fit into an 80-minute set Thursday at the Hollywood Palladium--leader Mike Ness and his mates are mounting a strong bid to secure a penthouse suite on punk Olympus.

Ness’ mid-’80s heroin addiction, its antecedents in a wild and painful youth and its aftermath of recovery, acceptance and self-knowledge, form the thematic core of Social Distortion’s five-album songbook. The new “White Light White Heat White Trash” is the most insightful and consistently catchy collection yet in this ongoing song-of-self.

Few punk bands have lasted longer than SD, which has been running continuously since 1979. Thursday’s show, the first in a sold-out, two-night stand, highlighted just how much continuity the Orange County band has had.

Never a hard-core thrash band, SD was about pop-melodic punk long before Nirvana made it fashionable. So there was no great disjunction between the new material and songs like the 1979-vintage “1945,” a megaton-force rocker that got an explosive response from the moshing loyalists.

SD’s unchanging tack can be taken as a sign of obstinacy, limited reach or lack of venturesomeness. But it also is evidence of an effective rock ‘n’ roll machine whose simple design gives it a straightforward, enduring appeal.