Ranking The Suicide Machines’ 7 Albums
There’s always been something special about The Suicide Machines and their unique blend of ska punk — hardcore punk. Coming from Detroit, they had a slightly different path to “success” from the majority of bands in the scene. On top of that, they’re one of the few bands in the genre that started off on a major label (Hollywood Records), yet never seemed to suffer any of the regular sellout backlash that other bands do — maybe because they never had to leave an indie label.
I have to give due credit to The Suicide Machines as they were one of the first bands to introduce me to ska punk in the first place and for that reason alone, they’ll always be an important group for me and a band I’m always excited to hear more from. Sure, they’ve had some ups and downs throughout their career, but overall they’ve remained one of the best in the genre.
The band was originally formed with Jason Navarro on vocals and Dan Lukacinsky on guitar & backup vocals with a couple of different drummers and bassists before settling on Royce Nunley on bass and Derek Grant on drums. Grant left the band (and joined Alkaline Trio) in 1998 after their second album and Ryan Vandeberghe replaced him, remaining with the band to this day. Nunley stayed with the group for their Hollywood Records years, but left in 2002 having performed on their first four records. Rich Tschirhart then took over on bass and also still remains with the band.
After 15 years as a band, The Suicide Machines broke up in 2006, but reformed again three years later in 2009 to play a reunion show and have been playing the occasional show or mini-tour since. When they reunited, everyone returned except founding member Dan Lukacinsky who was replaced by Justin Malek. Despite being reunited for over ten years, it wasn’t until this year, 2020, that they finally released new material — Revolution Spring.
To rank the records, I re-listened to all seven albums again several times over a few weeks period, giving each album an ample shot.
7. The Suicide Machines (2000)
This album is… confusing, to say the least. They almost completely changed their sound from their first two records, opting for a much more radio-friendly poppy version of punk in lieu of the ska-punk and hardcore punk that had dominated their previous records. To this day, I still don’t understand why they made this record like this — was there label pressure, financial issues, or maybe they just legitimately wanted to change up their sound? If not for their previous albums, this album would’ve likely gone mostly unheard, but luckily they had a fan group already. As far as pop-punk goes, it’s an okay album with innocent enough lyrics (2 songs are about dogs). At one point they even decide to try out rap-rock with “I Hate Everything” (which I’ve developed a somewhat guilty pleasure for). You can also find orchestral accompaniment on a few of the songs — which doesn’t really work for this band, it feels out of place. Near the end of the record, there’s a bit of hardcore and ska-punk, but even the little bit provided isn’t particularly interesting.
Recommended Tracks: Green, Permanent Holiday, & I Hate Everything
6. Battle Hymns (1998)
Battle Hymns is a favourite among a lot of Suicide Machines fans, so seeing it this low will probably upset some. Despite the popularity of the album, it sounds like a very rushed one-trick-pony album where nearly every song sounds the same — the plus side is this also means that there aren’t really any bad songs on the album, but rather just tracks that feel forgettable and blend together. The second half of the album is noticeably worse with each track following a very set formula. As opposed to their debut album, Battle Hymns focused more on hardcore, but it’s really the elements of ska that add melody and help break up the monotony of the majority of the songs. Battle Hymns is one of those albums that would’ve been better as a 8-song EP rather than a full-length stuffed with a lot of filler tracks.
Recommended Tracks: Give, Black & White World, & DDT
5. Steal This Record (2001)
The last Suicide Machines record for a major label, Steal This Album is a bit of a mixed bag. The production is similar to the self-titled album, but the content is overall more aggressive and has a serious tone. There are several elements of hardcore and even a ska song, but overall the album is still mostly pop-punk (but more palatable than on the self-titled). Steal This Album only barely beats out Battle Hymns, but this is mostly due to the diversity on the record that is absent from Battle Hymns. While there aren’t any particularly stand-out songs, the album is overall pleasant, if not maybe a little forgettable. It’s a fine record, but certainly not one that would give the band notoriety.
Recommended Tracks: Honor Among Thieves, All My People, & The Killing Blow
Each of the next 4 albums could easily compete for the best Suicide Machines record so it’s slightly a toss-up the order you put them in, although I do prefer my order.
Side note: their best albums all use the same font for the band name.
4. A Match and Some Gasoline (2003)
First of all, I really love this album. It offers a great redemption for the band with songs that are full of energy, excitement, and enthusiasm. Tracks that are lyrically charged and centered on politics and personal life. The production on the album is maybe what really helps it to stand out and gives it more of a “punch” with the band enlisting the talents at Blasting Room Studios — giving the album a much fuller sound. While the record itself is very aggressive, the track order is set up perfectly to never tire out the listener — going back and forth from hardcore punk to ska punk. There isn’t really a single weak song on the album, and the only thing I can think to fault the album for is it feels a little short (although not the shortest TSM record). If you’re looking for a record to pump you up, this is a great one to go with, although the second half doesn’t quite match the intensity of the first.
Recommended Tracks: High Anxiety, Your Silence, & Did You Ever Get A Feeling of Dread?
3. Revolution Spring (2020)
There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this album. How would they sound after a 15-year absence between records? How different would they sound without founding member Dan Lukacinsky on guitar/backing vocals? Luckily for us all, they managed to pick up nearly right where they left off. Yes, the production isn’t quite as nice as their last two albums (but it’s still good), and yes I do miss Lukacinsky’s vocals backing up Navarro, but overall this is an album that’s far better than I expected. With the inclusion of horns and organ on a few songs, Revolution Spring is probably the most similar to their debut album — I guess things have come full circle. A minor gripe I have, but as someone who loves opening tracks, Revolution Spring somewhat disappoints here. The opening track isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t feel like an intro song, and think they should have opened with something like “Potter’s Song”. Lyrically, the songs are a mix of politics and personal issues, but without quite the same ferocity of the previous two records — although you can still find some full-on furious hardcore songs. I hope this record is a sign of things to come and we don’t have to wait too long for another.
Recommended Tracks: Potter’s Song, Impossible Possibilities, & Detroit is the New Miami
2. Destruction By Definition (1996)
What an incredible debut album and one that immediately made a mark on the ska punk genre. Destruction By Definition was able to capture that youthful energy in a way that transcends the years, making the album sound just as fresh now as it did almost 25 years ago. The lyrics here don’t really cover anything political except maybe scene politics so it doesn’t match the ferocity of future albums, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any less honest or urgent, just that the themes here are more narrow and localized. Although there are a couple of moments where the band gets more aggressive, their future focus on hardcore rarely comes through, instead, the album is chalked full of upstrokes, pick-it-ups, Hammond organ (played by Derek Grant), and some really well-placed horns. Although I prefer how Navarro’s vocals matured over the years, he still sounds great here, if not a bit inexperienced. I think the only aspect that keeps this record from being in the first place is the filler tracks at the end of the album. I think you could shave off 3–4 songs and end up with a better album that’s still 30min long. None of these filler songs are bad though, they just don’t match the quality of the best tracks.
Recommended Tracks: Hey, New Girl, & The Real You
1. War Profiteering Is Killing Us all (2005)
This right here is everything I want from a Suicide Machines album, it shows what the band is able to produce when firing on all cylinders. War Profiteering contains a significant amount of similarities to A Match and Some Gasoline from two years prior. Recorded and produced by the same people it’s unsurprisingly sonically similar, but the similarities aren’t just there. The types of songs, hardcore and ska punk, are also extremely comparable. What War Profiteering does is ever-so-slightly improve on everything from AMaSG. The lyrics here are a little more focused, and each song is structured to perfection. Instead of favouring the first or second half, this album moves along flawlessly — something that may be due to the album’s short runtime. After listening to all of their albums again several times, I found that this was the one that I always wanted to go back to and just couldn’t get enough of. “I Went On Tour for Ten Years…” alone may be reason enough to give this album first place.
Recommended Tracks: I Went On Tour for Ten Years…, Junk, & Red Flag
