Green Day later began making a new album, but the recordings of the songs were stolen from the band’s music studio. Green Day decided not to recreate the same album. They decided to do something different. In two thousand four they released “American Idiot” which became an international best seller. The songs criticize American policy over the war in Iraq. Billie Joe Armstrong said that he knew the album could be a risky choice for the band.

But he felt it was worth the risk to be able to honestly voice the band’s political beliefs.