U2 have surprised fans by releasing a political-charged extended play (EP) titled Days of Ash.
To coincide with Ash Wednesday, a holy day in many Christian denominations, the rock band - formed of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. - dropped the standalone six-track project.
Days of Ash is comprised of five new songs and Wildpeace, a poem written by Israeli author/poet Yehuda Amichai, which is read by Nigerian artist Adeola of Les Amazones d'Afrique.
"The songs on Days of Ash are very different in mood and theme to the ones we're going to put on our album later in the year," said Bono in a statement, referring to U2's upcoming 16th studio album. "These EP tracks couldn't wait; these songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay, of lamentation. Songs of celebration will follow, we're working on those now... because for all the awfulness we see normalised daily on our small screens, there's nothing normal about these mad and maddening times, and we need to stand up to them before we can go back to having faith in the future. And each other."
With the opening track American Obituary, U2 reflect on the raids undertaken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in major U.S. cities as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration and the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Elsewhere, the track Song of the Future honours the life of 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh, an Iranian girl who was allegedly beaten to death at a protest in 2022.
And a song titled One Life At A Time is written for Awdah Hathaleen, a Palestinian father of three who was killed in his village in the West Bank in July 2025.
And for Yours Eternally, Bono and The Edge are joined by Ed Sheeran and Ukrainian musician-turned-soldier, Taras Topolia.
"Taras is the inspiration for Yours Eternally, a song written in the form of a letter from a soldier on active duty with a bold, mischievous spirit to match Ukraine's," the frontman explained.
In addition, the Days of Ash EP is accompanied by the return of Propaganda - a one-off 52-page digital magazine.
U2 first published the magazine around 40 years ago.
