I dont know what Jason Navarro, from Detroit was thinking when he decided to create a ska band named The Suicide Machines. Not only does it give an indication that the band plays American black metal, but my mom would never let me own a piece of their clothing. They also are a lot of fun to talk about with people who have never heard them.
But I do know what Jason Navarro was thinking when he decided to fuse hardcore music with ska punk. If you have indeed heard the band, then you already know that its a fusion of hardcore and ska, which surprisingly, turns out better than I may make it out to sound. From The Suicide Machines, youll either hear some pretty authentic ska-punk, or the most thrashy screaming about politics with raging instruments to lead the way. Luckily for us listeners, the Machines have an equal amount of both on all their albums. Sometimes the style will change mid-song, which must be an insanely difficult task, if you want to stay in the same melody and idea of the track. I just dont know how they do it.
People that have followed this band through their first album in 1996 would most likely say that the sound has moved from more ska oriented, to more on the hardcore side. Me being one of those listeners would have to agree. If you listen to Destruction By Definition and then listen to this, you would know what I was talking about. What may have caused the big overhaul is the change of their drummer in 1998 and acquiring a new bassist in 2002. After all, that is when these fun loving ska-kids turned into the hardcore punks they are now. A Match and Some Gasoline certainly has things going for it. Most of which I have already mentioned. The bass playing on A Match is superb. Sometimes, entire songs stop out of nowhere to better hear the quick and crazy bass. Then you have the minute long songs that are just insane hardcore songs, but you also have the two or three minute ska influenced songs. The band also tends to have one of the last songs on their albums be ridiculously long, which I will be getting into greater detail with later.
As mentioned before, some of the songs could be really heavy. The first track Burning In The Aftermath is a good example of this occurrence. Its jam-packed with all the screaming and intense guitar licks. The song begins with a bang, and you are told that
Burning In The Aftermath
Since 1989 it seems that everyone's
forgotten the time when
intercontinental ballistics ruled the
world and the cold war raged
Nuclear family, Nuclear war!
Nuclear family, Nuclear war!
Nuclear family, Nuclear war!
Nuclear family, Nuclear war!
The lyrics are brutal. Someone really has a message they want let out, haha. But remember, that this is one of the heavier songs on the album. You also have the more ska-oriented tracks, such as High Anxiety, Did You Ever Get A Feeling Of Dread?, and The Change. Now that I list these tracks, I realize that the album goes back and fourth with the heaviness and the ska cool. Anyway, High Anxiety would definitely be my favorite of these. You may have heard this song in Tony Hawks Pro Skater somewhere (thats where I actually got into this band). If you havent heard it, thats okay too. The song has some really great lyrics that Id like to share, but thatll be after I tell you that this song has some really nice melodic guitar lines in it, with the bass equally as gourgeous. Okay, here are the lyrics.
High Anxiety
Well it's the high anxiety I'm a victim of
society high anxiety I'm a victim of society
high anxiety it's my high anxiety getting to the
best of me
Sometimes I feel like I'm gonna explode and
when I'm approaching total overload I know that
when I'm having a panic attack to duck and cover
cuz I can feel it coming
As I said before, the last track on SM albums is always long. That is the truth too. The last track Politics Of Humanity begins acoustically, and it remains for the verses. Then in the chorus, it gets kind of pop/punkish. Then when you think the song is over, it is just ambient, until the acoustic close to the album. It slowly fades away, as you ponder the return of these so-called machines. Whether it be the skaters anthem Keep It A Crime, or the metal-heads Your Silence, you really cant go wrong with this. If you like ska-core, then its a gimme. If youre just getting into ska, then this is also a nice pickup. The only problem with this for me is that its a ska band, with no horns. For me, thats a big hit to the style of music The Machines play.
It's not really an album to be taken seriously. But it truly begs for a listen when you need some fun music. I can tell you that when I listen to this, it makes me smile. Really though, don't take it seriously or you'll be dissapointed.
