Suicidal Tendencies - An Evolution

Suicidal Tendencies - An Evolution

My introduction with Suicidal Tendencies began in the early 90s. I was partially aware of some of the skate and punk movements, but I wasn't as interested as most of my peers. I remember the ethos of style, attitude, and locality. Many of the skate bands came from the Southern California coastal areas, which shaped a lot of the underground scene (at that time).

A lot of the attitude relied on surf culture, but also a urban aspect that carried over to the suburban lifestyle. This is my understanding of the birth of that style.I feel its been young persons interest, as I haven't kept up as youthful angst doesn't fit a forty year old mindset.

Of the entire Suicidal Tendencies era, I lean more toward the self titled record. Following all the way through until their last with the major label Epic records: Suicidal For Life in 1994. What the group produced in the later half of the 90's I was aware of, some of it was okay, I didn't connect with any of it.

The first S.T. record I could relate because of the angst, hormones, and frustrations with finding an identity in a world with so many contradictions. This splintered outwards at my awkwardness, and those songs in that world to me felt more allegorical, and spoke more closely to my predilections.

Each record up til Suicidal For Life had a kind of evolution. I postulate that they moved from a garage Do It Yourself (DIY) hardcore/crossover mechanic (indie), eventually morphing and settling into an extremely well polished and heavily produced studio machine.

I got the brief opportunity to seeing Suicidal Tendencies play during their The Art of Rebellion jaunt with Megadeth with the Headbangers Ball tour in 1992. A critical issue/fault I had was frontman Mike Muir was barely audible, and in a live setting tended to be drowned out by the overpowered amps, drums, and bass.

Plus Mike's definitely can be a bit redundant with bravado, as he preached at that time (i.e. material off of Controlled By Hatred, Lights, Camera, Revolution, and The Art of Rebellion). The musicianship was always the focal point, and I couldn't fault their performance based on Mike's hard to decipher vocals.

The band could play their asses off, yet I think they were a studio band and I may have been a tad too late to their brand (shtick). I think if I had lived in the Venice Beach area and seen this band starting out, it wouldn't have felt like a strange experience.

Studious pieces of this band I liked were the guitar tones of Mike Clark, and Rocky George. bassists Louiche Mayorga, and Robert Trujillo. These gents stood out to me as they really gave their style and sound around the ethos of the band.

Many drummers have come and gone, but I can distinctly tell which record is from which era. The production is very much in line with the times it was created (80's raw, higher treble mixed, early 90's more bass driven, drum snare pops).

One guitarist that I think stood out for them was Rocky George. His time with Suicidal Tendencies brought soul to the wild noodle fest that permeated so much of the crossover style. His work with Join The Army and until Suicidal For Life have tone that punch which stands out.

Rocky's style (I believe) has this tendency of elongating notes and feeling out the performance which stood out to me, I still feel he accentuates Mike Clark's playing, and they feed off each other with a push pull component, kind of like a mechanical gear. After 1994's Suicidal For Life he dropped off the face of the Earth for awhile. It wasn't until the late 2000's I found out he was in Fishbone, and to me that is super cool. I will also say he is a hard gentleman to talk to.

Their older material levied an informative component to it. Though Suicidal Tendencies are still around, being on either a fourth or fifth incarnation, and with a different line ups, they still pack them in outside of the U.S.

The way we look at bands and how they evolve is a testament in how we ourselves develop over the duration of those careers. Because I can be a brutally honest with assessing the overall complexion, this band was another solid beacon for me in troubled times.

Though time and distance have elongated from when they were fresh, and distinctly off center. With Mike's blatant street macho aspect, they were something to take notice in a field of flooded sameness. It was nice to marvel in they're individualism, but that comparison I think ends where the words are concerned. I feel much different about their message now, in that there are gems sprinkled about, but by no means is their work perfect.

Reflective at looking at this band, what it represented is that still underground exposure, as validates what I was thinking about a lot at that time. It has bludgeoned me with a sense of loss, as the passage of time has hit, the realities of capturing lighting in a bottle. These seemed to have a direct effect on my outlook on the band. Thanks for reading.

Up next Infectious Grooves.



B.

Anthrax - Persistence Of Time (Classic Thrash)

Anthrax - Persistence Of Time 

August 07th 1990

I was tired of the standard radio fair of Glam rock style, and the ever always last gasps of the Arena rock era. Anthrax was the first metal band I was introduced to in the fall of 1990 by a high school student whom let me borrow his cassette tape version.

While I had an already indirect connection to the modern music era which was already in the downward slide by the early 90s. In a very strange occurrence Anthrax was that band which opened the door to other more interesting musical sounds I eventually found in my journey.

The presentation or drive, and power was something I was unprepared for and yet it clicked instantly. I fell in love with the production of Mark Dodson, partly because at that time there wasn't that many records who used a kind of 'deadening imperfect sound'. There are hallmarks of perfected performances, as I could follow to a certain degree Charlie Benante's impeccable drumming. Whereas their lone cover of Joe Jackson's Got The Time cemented them as super cool.

Persistence Of Time is a record filled with apt rhythm bass/guitar, drumming, and a whole lot tunneled punch. The one quibble I felt about Persistence was Joey's vocals, his performance relied more on his frontal arch of prior records like State Of Euphoria, Among The Living, and Spreading The Disease, with this record he was aptly subdued, letting the musicians poke, and prod forth.

I kind of wondered and sensed the players of Scott Ian, Dan Spitz, and Frank Bello were more influenced by Metallica's ...And Justice For All construction, because that production carried over with Persistence Of Time recording sessions. Because this record to me had that very deliberate intention or vibe, but still having a distinct Anthrax staple.

This record was my first introduction to the metal music style. The early fall of 1990 really opened my listening experiences up more, and this band was my go to with branching out further into the metal arena.

I was excited, and curious to find what else was out there that I had been unaware of. For that Persistence is and will be that first 'holy shit' record that opened my ears to a more harsher, grittier, and pummeling sound.

 *8/21/19 Update* https://loudwire.com/anthrax-persistence-of-time-album-anniversary/

I happened to traverse this article from Loudwire about the making of this record, and the general thought was frustration with trying to find a way to make Persistence sound much darker in tone and theme. The levied complaint was more directed at Joey Belladonna (which I think tends to be a cop out, rather than address the underlying problem which was ...And Justice For All made this sound more appealing). It doesn't help the fact that so much of what Mr Ian is presenting here leans more on the popularity of Alice in Chains whom they toured with in 1991 with Clash of The Titans, this to me gives a little more validity to the thought process he was thinking of going into, and Joey was the fodder to that whim.

I am confident in my assessment because at that time I felt this record awoke something within my growing palate. While its been 29 years, the whole presentation still (to me) was a breath of fresh air. Its not a perfect record, some of songs lose its intensity as more prominent records came out changing the soundscape that much more. But there is no denying, Joey's departure was an odd thing to accept, and whence John Bush was introduced, 'Thrax went in a different direction altogether.

Thanks for reading.

B.

Sepultura - Beneath The Remains/Arise (Classic Thrash)

Artwork by Michael Whelan

Sepultura - Beneath The Remains 1989 & Arise 1991

Out of the early era Sepultura there are two records that bring the right mix of Thrash and punk. Beneath The Remains, and Arise have something that I keep coming back to with repeated listens.

Beneath The Remains is a record that Sepultura in my estimation changed into a more palatable distinction of the pack, whereas Arise was more of a polished refinement of Sepultura's evolving sound.

While other bands focused more on formula, Sepultura I believe employed a strategy with differentiation from what was already starting to become redundant. From my research I've come to this conclusion, some of the Thrash style was very much weighted in its own thrush of complacency. I'm not bagging on the whole genre in a general sense, but most of us who were around during this period definitely could tell who had the chops versus those who did not.

These two records embody fierceness but also employ deeper song construction with Andreas Kisser, Paulo Jr, Cavelera brothers Max, and Igor giving polished performances, Max's vocals evolve from thrash to death metal between both records, and Igor's drumming definitely mutates giving these two records a more tribal vibe.

Nightmare In Red by artist Michael Whelan

One of the things that annoyed me were the repetitive nature of the thrash drum patterns, obvious inflection of chug-a-chug guitar riffs. Yet I felt that both Andreas and Igor were prodded into subtle little touches which would stand out.

Igor's drum fills are switched up, whereas the cymbal work has intermittent crashes,  calculated rolling toms, and stutter stop uptempo double bass repetition.

With regards to Andrea's his guitar tone has a is higher register (treble) which is standard fair for this period. I feel he captured a glow in an off ambient form, the soloing feels traveled and experienced.

Paulo's bass is pronounce and I think he captures the rhythmic beat fundamentally well. I can feel each of the musicians pieces were constructed with deft precision.

Why I like these records is in how exotic they are. Plus these were my first taste into an international arena. They are powerful, and have major punch. Lyrically the songs are comprised of third world strife, struggle, social ails, and accountability. What I found more curious was the evolution between each record.

Though I didn't warm as much to Chaos A.D. or Roots, as Schizophrenia was still in a nascent development to where Sepultura eventually grew into, I feel that Beneath The Remains, and Arise were peaks to the Cavelera brothers output before it got all weird into the 90's decade.

Finally it was the artwork which drew me into these records. The dark and mysteriousness evoked all kinds of wonder, and intermittent curiosity. The incredible detail is finite and though having CDs couldn't capture the finer scope of Michael Whelan's artwork, I'm still happy to see the final result. Check these out in your travels, thanks for reading.

B.

Nuclear Assault - Game Over (Classic Thrash)

Nuclear Assault - Game Over 1986

Nuclear Assault were a band I didn't really get into until a couple of years ago. Most of what I did know of them was their Handle With Care record, and even then I wasn't ready to understand. In the last decade I have been fortunate to go back and check out material I've missed, Nuclear Assault being one of many.

My first foray is Game Over, an album accentuated by full on in your face east coast thrash. Because I was late to Nuclear Assault I have no frame of reference to pull from, but lets not kid here, I'm glad to have a fresh unbiased ear to a now classic record. In my research.

I liked this record for a couple of reasons. It's the right mix of tempo changes, full on throttle adrenaline, interspersed with humor. The subject matter often carries tongue in cheek element, but what I truly like is the craft of which Game Over elicits. The other is the way this record starts strong, and finishes aptly, and confidently.

My feeling with this record is it can't exist out of the format of its creation, it also creates a very good foundation where Nuclear Assault builds upon with each successive release. I've felt between 1986-89 period was their best work. By the 1990's the thrash style took a major shift, they couldn't really adapt and I felt they didn't need to, but what was released is a curious affair. No matter, Game Over is a record I'm happy to have heard. Thanks for reading.

B.

Sacred Reich - Ignorance (Classic Thrash)

Sacred Reich - Ignorance 1987

I figured on talking about Sacred Reich and where and how I came to find this diamond of a record. My real taste didn't begin until the 90's with Heal, and The American Way. I know they hail from Arizona United States, whereas the topics are very much about the era: Reaganomics, nuclear annihilation, and thinking for yourself. What I liked about Sacred Reich is they're not so palatable amongst the masses aspect; either you liked what they did or you didn't.


I found them as an oddity of sorts, but with their cover of Oingo Boingo's Who Do You Want To Be? off of Heal sold me instantaneously. I would even say these gents were off the beaten path like Oingo Boingo because they didn't fit in insomuch but rather carved out their own path.

Ignorance is a record that gave them a point to start from, as its crazy fast, ballsy, and grinds effortlessly. The fact this record still keeps my interest long after it was released is cool. I've always liked that I can understand the lyrics, and the tonality of the players.

It is a record of its time. I don't think there is much difference in the construction of its political message, because its about the same now with regards to more ardent and militant with polarized debates and the the such. If there is one thing that is always fluid is the need to make oneself acutely aware of their surroundings. Ignorance I think pelts the unaware just enough to pay close attention to the world one lives in.

Ignorance gives copious amounts of food for thought on human relations, an rift of silly paranoia, whilst adhering to personal ethics without compromising self intrepidity. I believe these are hallmarks of an era that is sadly been relegated to a niche or forgotten status.

I implore those who read this to check these guys out, thanks for reading.

B.