Forgotten Songs of the '80s: Suicidal Tendencies

Forgotten Songs of the ‘80s: Suicidal Tendencies

It was around 1988 and Suicidal Tendencies were just starting their transformation from a flat-out hardcore punk band to a punk band merging their earlier influences with metal and by that I mean speed metal. This new sounding ST made their debut with 1988’s How Will I Laugh Tomorrow…When I Can’t Even Smile Today. On that record was one of their best forays into the new sound: “Trip at the Brain.”

Kicking off with an excellent riff by the always amazing Rocky George, the rest of the band speeds up behind him and Mike Muir comes in with lyrics about drug abuse that really spoke of the times. But as the song goes on, the tempo gets quicker and things start to go rushing by you. As drummer R.J. Herrera and short-lived bassist Bob Heathcote get things kicking down, Mike’s lyrics become quicker and the band begin racing through it all as fast as they can and it all sounds excellent.

The band’s speed here is amazing but this song and every other song on the record paved the way for their crowning achievement, 1990’s Lights…Camera…Revolution! But this song is as good speed metal as anything by Megadeth, Exodus or Testament. If you thought that the only good ST was “Institutionalized,” then all you need to do is listen to “Trip at the Brain” and you’ll be hooked and never wanna go back to “Institutionalized” again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDheLViZbrk

Comments

  1. Big Bad Bald BastardDecember 29, 2009 at 4:07 PM

    The spoken word bit in the middle of the song prefigures the "Rap/Metal" trend of the '90s.

    ReplyDelete

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