this is green days long awaited eighth studio album, entitled 21st century breakdown. the album is the best selling trios first studio album since 2004s two time grammy award winning punk rock opera american idiot, which debuted at number one, spawned five hit singles, and went on to sell more than 12 million copies worldwide. 21st century breakdown is divided into three acts: heroes and cons, charlatans and saints, and horseshoes and handgrenades, and follows a young couple, christian and gloria, through the mess and promise of the century so far. the record is even more ambitious than american idiot and a record of die hard punk ideals... tightly scripted, continually ascending classic rock excitement. singer guitarist billie joe armstrong, bassist mike dirnt, and drummer tre cool have been at work writing, arranging, and recording 21st century breakdown since early 2006 awith producer butch vig, who is known for his work with nirvana, smashing pumpkins, garbage, and many others.