I've never been ashamed to admit that this was the record that turned it all around for me. In the mid-80's, you'd probably find me on a typical day, skipping school, skating some trashed, sketchy half pipe in some kid's backyard, and listening to this record. I was young, and I was impressionable. I read Thrasher magazine like it was a monthly Bible, and during that time, you couldn't get through an issue of Thrasher without, at least, a slight mention of the great, Suicidal Tendencies.
In those days, it was a lot harder to find out about bands. You couldn't type "punk" into a search engine and get back a million different sources of information. Instead, you had to search through the thanks list on the liner notes of that new, kick ass album you just discovered and hope to find a couple more bands mentioned that you could check out. There was no Napster. You had to have your friends make mix tapes for you and hope they found out about a band you hadn't heard of yet. But, for me, the starting place was Thrasher magazine.
In the early 80's, skateboarding vaguely resembled the huge, money making machine it does today. Tony Hawk wasn't a household name, and the kids were more apt to idolize Duane Peters or John Lucero than the goofy, lanky kid who was in that "Search For Animal Chin" movie. Thrasher didn't cover the music scene with too much enthusiasm. But, Pushead (famous underground artist and vocalist of Septic Death)had his own column every month, and a kid could quickly lose his weekly allowance buying a few of the cool slabs of wax he mentioned.
The Dogtown Skateboard ads were in every issue, and they always featured some glassy eyed, thug wearing a Suicidal Tendencies baseball cap with the bill flipped up. You better believe I had one of those caps. I never wore it. It just sat on my dresser because it was about ten sizes too big for my head, but I still had one and that's all that mattered. When I'd lay down to go to sleep at night, I'd dream of Z-roller trucks and a Duane Peters deck, listening to the fury of this debut album. After that, everything changed.
Mike Muir gives his patented vocal delivery to a good array of 80's punk lyrical topics, from the details of war in "Memories of Tomorrow" to Ronald Reagan in "I Shot Reagan". He also touches on feelings of helplessness and despair in "Institutionalized", "Suicide's an Alternative", and "Suicidal Failure". Muir's distinctive vocal style really makes you feel like he's on the edge of losing his sanity. His delivery gives the songs a feeling of urgency, and at times, almost a blank eyed, "it's too late" ambivalence.
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