Description

Judging from their name, Suicidal Tendencies were never afraid of a little controversy. Formed in Venice, CA, during the early '80s, the group's leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir. The outfit specialized in vicious hardcore early on — building a huge following among skateboarders, lending a major hand in the creation of skatepunk — before turning their focus eventually to thrash metal. Early on, the group (whose original lineup included Muir, guitarist Grant Estes, bassist Louiche Mayorga, and drummer Amery Smith) found it increasingly difficult to book shows, due to rumors of its members' affiliation with local gangs and consistent violence at their performances. The underground buzz regarding Suicidal Tendencies grew too loud for labels to ignore though, as the quartet signed on with the indie label Frontier; issuing Muir and company's classic self-titled debut in 1983. The album quickly became the best-selling hardcore album up to that point; its best-known track, ‘Institutionalized’, was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV, and was eventually used in the Emilio Estevez cult classic movie Repo Man, as well as in an episode for the hit TV show Miami Vice (for which the group made a cameo appearance). Suicidal Tendencies proved influential for future speed/thrash metal bands, but despite its early success, the quartet's reputation preceded them, as no other record label was willing to take them on (in addition, Los Angeles banned the group from playing around this time, lasting until the early '90s). Not much was heard from the group for several years afterward (leading many to believe that Suicidal had broken up), but Muir and company eventually found a home with Caroline Records. By this time, half of the original lineup had left; Muir and Mayorga were the only holdovers, while guitarist Rocky George and drummer R.J. Herrera rounded out the group. 1987 saw the release of Suicidal's sophomore release, ‘Join the Army’, which spawned another popular skatepunk anthem, ‘Possessed to Skate’, as more and more metal heads began to be spotted in Suicidal's audience. Soon after, Suicidal was finally offered a major-label contract (with Epic), as another lineup change occurred: Mayorga exited the band, while newcomer Bob Heathcote took his spot; and a second guitarist, Mike Clark, was added as well. This Suicidal lineup's first album together, 1988's How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today, showed that their transformation from hardcore to heavy metal was now complete. This 1992 compilation album features tracks from their first three albums and since its have been out of print for long time it have become somewhat of a rare collector's item. Track listing: 1. Suicide's an Alternative/You'll Be Sorry 2. Join The Army 3. Trip at the Brain 4. Suicidal Failure 5. I Shot The Devil 6. Suicidal Maniac 7. Institutionalized 8. I Feel Your Pain and I Survive 9. How Will I Laugh Tomorrow 10. Possessed 11. If I Don't Wake Up] 12. Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right 13. I Saw Your Mommy 14. Human Guinea Pig 15. Subliminal 16. Surf and Slam 17. Possessed to Skate 18. I Want More 19. The Feeling's Back 20. A Little Each Day 21. Suicyco Mania 22. Pledge Your Allegiance