Suicidal Tendencies

Freedumb (Side One Dummy)
by Scott Hefflon

The first full-length Suicidal Tendencies record in five years, it’s got all the best and worst elements of ST. From the days (the early ’80s, in case you need help) when punk was violent, shunned like the fuckin’ plague, and pissed off parents and authority figures cuz it may’ve been small, but it was uncontrollable, to the days when ST is selling out arenas and playing funky heavy metal, it’s all on Freedumb. Without the constraints of major label power, but in a world so jaded and pussified (many so bitter they hate all music now cuz the biz has corrupted everything, the rest excited by anything with a peppy beat and a veneer of attitude that’ll mildly irritate their parents but still keep them “in” with the cool kids at school), having a Suicidal record not suck is a major accomplishment. While Mike Muir makes the same mistake as Anthony Whatshisname from the Chili Peppers (trying to sing), and a lot of this sounds like Pro-Pain, that’s nothing new, and the kids’ll sure crank the shit outta this while driving too fast and pounding the dashboard of their parents’ car. With thoughtful rebellion, positive songs about not letting things get you down, occasional new metal hip-hop beats, cruising guitar riffs, manic drumming, and slow mosh/whoa-whoa breakdowns, Freedumb is ST prepared for the millennium.
(6201 Sunset Blvd. #211 Hollywood, CA 90028)