The American rock band Good Charlotte have announced the release date for their seventh album “Generation Rx”, available from September 14. A full two years since their last album, the band has said grief and pain inspire the new material.

A statement from Good Charlotte says: “The message is you can get through the pain, survive it, and have the life you want. We made the record on our own terms and our own time. In that respect, we channelled the soul of our first two albums.”

The first single to be released from the album is “Actual Pain”, a dark, heavy song, taking the band back to their emo roots. The track is about opioid addiction and was inspired by the death last year of rapper Lil Peep, who was a fan of the band.

Vocalist Joel Madden describes his feelings about drugs: “Throughout this century we’ve seen the whole opioid crisis get worse. We wondered if we were really doing our part. We wanted to get back out there on the battlefield and spread insight, share experience and give anything we could to improve lives.”

To support the new album, Good Charlotte will be playing a one-off gig at London’s Alexandra Palace on February 20, 2019, with tickets on sale June 1.

They are headlining this year’s Slam Dunk Festival, which takes place over three venues in Leeds, Hatfield and Birmingham this bank holiday weekend. Confirmed support acts include Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, Sleeping with Sirens and State Champs. Performing on the second stage will be Jimmy Eat World, Taking Back Sunday and Lower than Atlantis.

The member of Good Charlotte are known for their active support of animal rights campaigns, and have, in the past, demonstrated against KFC’s treatment of chickens.