Warthur The whole reason Suicidal Tendencies are interesting is because of their innovative crossbreeding of thrash metal and hardcore punk, which leaves their debut album feeling rather uninspiring. It's a reasonable set of hardcore punk, but it's also a somewhat generic set - if you've heard any early-80s hardcore there are few surprises to be had here. A few moments like the intro to I Shot the Devil suggest something more but ultimately such features are only there to add spice to a fairly basic hardcore approach. They're no Black Flag at this point, but punk fans will find lyrics like "I shot Reeeeeeeeeagan!" suitably transgressive.

UMUR "Join the Army" is the 2nd full-length studio album by American thrash metal/ crossover act Suicidal Tendencies. The album was released in May 1987 through Caroline Records. After gaining quite a bit of popularity in the wake of their 1983 self-titled debut album, Suicidal Tendencies endured quite a few lineup changes, but frontman Mike Muir and bassist Louiche Mayorga also spend time forming the Label Suicidal Records as well as the band Los Cycos. All factors that might explain the four year recording gap between the debut album and "Join the Army". One of the new members of the band was guitarist Rocky George and his more metal oriented type of playing would have great impact on the future of the band.

The music on "Join the Army" is crossover/thrash metal, which is most simply explained as thrash metal with hardcore punk influences. In this case it might be the other way around but that´s a minor detail. One of the major changes on "Join the Army" compared to the debut album is the inclusion of guitar solos but it´s also obvious that the band were generally moving in a more musically varied direction. They succeed to some extent and there are several "classics" among the tracks on the album like "Suicidal Maniac", "Join The Army", "Possessed To Skate" and "War Inside My Head". Unfortunately there are also some more mediocre tracks on the album and paired with a somewhat powerless sound production I think "Join the Army" is a slightly disappointing release compared to the strong debut. This is clearly a transition album where the band hadn´t fully made up their mind about the future direction of their music. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.

UMUR "Suicidal Tendencies" is the self-titled debut full-length studio album by US crossover/thrash metal act Suicidal Tendencies. The album was released through Frontiers Records in July 1983. The original vinyl version contained 12 tracks while the Virgin Records CD re-release featured 3 additional tracks. By the end of the 80s the album was out of print, to the great frustration of frontman Mike Muir, who decided to re-record all 12 tracks from the original release along with a couple of tracks from "Join the Army (1987)" and release them as the "Still Cyco After All These Years (1993)" album.

Featuring 12 tracks and a 28:16 minutes long playing time "Suicidal Tendencies" is an "over before you know it" no frills kind of album. Suicidal Tendencies are mostly known for playing thrash and later alternative/funky metal but they have always had hardcore punk elements in their sound and more on this album than on any other by the band. Actually it would probably be wrong to call this album a crossover thrash metal release because that genre term wasn´t coined yet in 1983. So this is basically a hardcore punk album with hints towards early thrash metal. No matter what you chose to call the music it´s filhty, raw and delivered with fierce conviction.

...but not only that! The tracks on the album are damn catchy and memorable too. Already this early on Suicidal Tendencies had a very unique sound, which is in large part due to the vocal style of frontman Mike Muir. Sometimes speak singing so fast that he almost stubbles on the words, sometimes singing in a raw "Fuck You" attitude style and sometimes singing with a high pitched voice. The rest of the band are very well playing too and easily go from blasting hardcore punk sections to mid-paced groovier sections and even venture into blues territory on "I Saw Your Mommy...". Early signs of the band´s future alternative/eclectic nature.

It´s not often you come across an album where each and every track on the album are killer material but "Suicidal Tendencies" is one such album. It´s an album that makes me go nuts and bang my head, it makes me smile (and even laugh at times) but it also makes me think about life and society. A rare achivement indeed. Tracks like "Institutionalized", "I Saw Your Mommy...", "Suicide's an Alternative / You'll Be Sorry" and "Suicidal Failure" are simply high quality material but I could mention any track on the album and the high quality stamp would fit. The fact that the album features a raw, powerful and well sounding production definitely isn´t a minus either.

Suicidal Tendencies have released quite a few great albums throughout their career, but none of them as influential as this one. This is a "must hear" album for fans of crossover thrash and I think a 4.5 star (90%) rating is fully deserved.

Bmiler This album is very raw and in your face, the debut album from Suicidal Tendencies. They later became a straight up thrash band, but this debut was hardcore punk. But it also demonstrates how that genre had an impact on the metal scene, particularly the speed/thrash scene. All the songs on this album are very short and brief, so they never get a chance to outstay their welcome. "Institutionalized" is a classic. I remembered when I first saw the video to it that I was just laughing! Here's a teenager (actually Mike Muir) having problems with his parents, his parents thinking he needs to be in a mental institution. It's obviously in a suburban setting (likely in Southern California, as the band is from Southern California). Who can forget that "All I want is a Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me. Just one Pepsi". So much more to enjoy like "Two Sided Politics", criticizing the culture that marginalizes certain segments of society. "I Shot the Devil" mostly sticks out for the "I shot Reagan" part, but since it's so hard to understand what Mike Muir is saying, he was apparently also referencing Anwar Sadat, Pope John Paul II, and John Lennon, people who were either assassinated, or had an assassination attempt. Other goodies include "Subliminal", "I Saw Your Mommy", and "Suicidal Failure". The band often included humor in the music. Little wonder why this album gets a lot of praise. It's enough to scare off any Kenny G. fan, and the music really has that raw and aggressive sound. Listening to this, it's little wonder why metalheads would love this as much as those into hardcore punk.

Time Signature Scream out...

Genre: hardcore punk

While excelling in crossover thrash and funk metal, Mike Muir decided to take Suicidal Tendencies back to its hardcore punk roots on this album.

This means the the album is full of uptempo and quite simple hardcore punk tracks with very little thrash metal elements on it (metal is present though), and perhaps most metalheads might not really like this album - I quite like it though, simply because it is upbeat and full of energy.

The slappy bass has taken the backseat on this album, as hardcore punk of course does not lend itself that well to funkiness - but, fans of the more funky Suicidal, despair not: there are some funky elements and there is some slapping and popping every now and then.

So, "Freedumb" is much more of a hardcore punk release, and probably not among those Suicidal releases that appeal the most to metalheads - still, if your looking for some upbeat punk to to ballistics to, then, by all means check this one out.