小简介
当80年代早期非主流刚刚起步的时候,SUICIDAL TENDENCIES就以其标志性的融合了朋克、激流和疯克的音乐风格以及对抗性的歌词在其中占据了重要一席。经过不泄的斗争后,这支来自南加利福尼亚的乐队在此领域取得了辉煌的成绩——无数的演出、众多专辑、还有两项格来美奖提名。
回到80年代初洛杉机沸腾的Hardcore现场,一个新名字出现了——SUICIDAL TENDENCIES。这是四个来自社会底层的拉丁美洲籍年轻愤怒的青年,他们显然对时下流行的风格不屑一顾,也决不妥协或投降,无论从音乐还是衣着上我们都可看出。他们是来自加州洛杉矶的四个聪明的街头混混。牵头人物是主唱Mike Muir,1982年他只是为了好玩而组建了乐队,还包括几个学校的伙伴——贝司Louiche Mayorga,吉他Grant Estes和鼓手Amery Smith。Mike使得SUICIDAL TENDENCIES很容易从众多Hardcore乐队中分辨出来,他的特征很明显,强壮的身体,还有那块总包在头上的方头巾。开始的时候,他们只是一支 skater/punk乐队,很快就加入了一些金属元素,但他们既不能被认为是一支大众化的朋克乐队(他们的歌曲中有很多solo),也不能被看作一支金属乐队(因为他们太直接了),在他们的音乐和歌词中,有着太多令人激动的相互融合的风格。
从道德逻辑来看,他们的乐队名必定受到了众多谴责,但 Mike Muir一直在声明他们绝不会宽恕自杀;事实上,取这个名字仅仅因为他年轻时经常做一些疯狂的事情。当其他摇滚乐队都骑着哈雷摩托的时候,他们却踩着滑板,这也许和他们的名字同出一辙。尽管开局不利,甚至被Flipside杂志评为1982年“;最差乐队和最大的asshole”;,但他们还是创造了 Hardcore经典。
Suicidal Tendencies是他们的首张专辑,由American Lesion Music公司于1983年发表。不久,他们便开始巡演,但后台资金支持显然不够,从他们巡演回来后瘦弱的身躯就可看出。他们演出最多的报酬是一场100 美圆,有很多时候甚至是免费的。演出回来后,更倒霉的事情是他们被加洲警察盯上了,因为他们的名字和打扮太惹眼了。更有谣言说FBI建议他们改掉一些歌名,如将I Shot Reagan改为I Shot The Devil!电视台借此机会大放SUICIDAL TENDENCIES的影带,于是他们因祸得福,在随后的几个月里,专辑开始流行,在其后的3年中,一共卖出了15万张。
有了前车之鉴,没有一个大公司愿意签约一支有着如此令社会反感名字的乐队;更有甚者,由于太过暴力(经常在演唱会上动粗),他们被处5年内严禁在洛杉机举行公众演出。事情终究在变化,在他们等待2年后, Virgin收购Caroline厂牌,他们也给了SUICIDAL TENDENCIES一纸合约,很艺术地控制了一切事情。SUICIDAL TENDENCIES同意了。
Join The Army是SUICIDAL TENDENCIES的第二张专辑,也是在Caroline的第一张。此时吉他手Grant Estes已被Rocky George取代,鼓手也由Ralph J.Herrera担当。最终专辑在1987年发行,赢得了许多喝彩。与第一张相比,其中加入了流行的街道生活标志——滑板。和当时的时尚(体恤、帽子、方头巾等)一样,滑板成为Hardcore的新潮流:SkateCore。与D.R.I.,AGNOSTIC FRONT和GANG GREEN一起,SUICIDAL TENDENCIES成为新风格的代言人。
第三张专辑How Will I Laugh Tomorrow(When I Can't Even Smile Today),在英国于Virgin旗下发行,在美国于Epic旗下发行,这是1988年的事。此时他们在音乐的表达上做了改良,加入了一名节奏吉他手 Mike Clark,贝司手也易人,Bob Heathcote取代Louiche Mayorga。Mike Clark的加入对乐队的影响是明显的,他创作了70??歌曲。专辑由Mark Dodson(曾与ANTHRAX一起工作)制作,许多人相信是他改变了SUICIDAL TENDENCIES的全部音效。此时的SUICIDAL TENDENCIES听起来更加暴烈。1989年第四张专辑Controlled By Hatred/Feel Like Shit...DejaVu问世,事实上它是由两张EP构成,一张是Controlled By Hatred(包含四首歌),另一张是Feel Like Shit...DejaVu(包括五首歌)。乐队的阵容也再次变化,Stymee作了新的贝司手。而这次的制作人是Paul Winger和他们自己。
1990年的Lights...Camera... Revolution无疑是他们最好的专辑。这次Mark Dodson为他们带来了十分清晰的录音。Robert Trujillo成为新的贝司手。许多乐迷对他们风格的改变很气愤,因为确实他们已不是Hardcore,而是融合了Funk和Hardcore的重金属。事实上乐队成员已不再将风格定格在Hardcore,他们从自我生活中引入各种风格。随后1992年的第6张专辑The Art Of Rebellion,人员再次变迁,Ralph J. Herrera因为家庭问题离开乐队,Josh Freese以临时队员的身份加入,Mike Muir也更名为Cyco Miko Muir。F.N.G.也在1992年发表,这只是头3张专辑的精?UICIDAL TENDENCIES也算多产,1993年发行第7张专辑Still Cyco After All These Years,由Mike Dodson和Mike Muir一起制作。这也是一张合辑,由Suicidal Tendencies、两首选自Join The Army的歌曲和一首新歌组成,尽管批评家认为乐队已经停滞不前了,但乐迷还是很喜欢它。
1994年的Suicidal For Life是他们的第八张也是最后一张专辑。这时的鼓手是曾经在WHITE LION、Y'n'T和ALICE COOPER呆过的Jimmy DeGrasso。专辑带来了极硬的Hardcore/Metal声响,同时词作也极其污秽。随后的美国巡演,传来了一个坏消息,SUICIDAL TENDENCIES解散了!乐队解散后,Mike Muir的另一个乐队INFECTIOUS GROOVES仍在继续。
1998年,不甘寂寞的Mike Muir决定重组乐队,他找来INFECTIOUS GROOVES的吉他手Dean Pleasants和鼓手Brooks Wackerman,然后不知道从哪找了个贝司手Josh Paul,又重新以SUICIDAL TENDENCIES的名义(听起来怎么也象是直接把INFECTIOUS GROOVES改名为SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)录制了一张名为6 The Hard Way的EP。自此ST再次活跃起来,在1999年的全新专辑Freedumb之后,乐队终于把Mike Clark请回来了,这次才算是名副其实的ST了。2000年的Free Your Soul And Save My Mind证明乐队重新找回了10年前的实力。
2001年,贝司手Robert Trujillo被METALLICA相中,加入了这支如日中天的乐队,ST只好找来Steve Brunner顶替。不久后鼓手Brooks Wackerman也找到了更好的工作,BAD RELIGION,这支老牌朋克乐队把他挖走了,之后Ron Brunner Jr加入了乐队成为新的鼓手。乐队的最新专辑是早期作品合辑和Friends and Family 2,此外除演出外暂无其他动静
Judging from their name, Suicidal Tendencies were never afraid of a little controversy. Formed in Venice, CA, during the early 80s, the groups leader from the beginning was outspoken vocalist Mike Muir. The outfit specialized in vicious hardcore early on — building a huge following among skateboarders, lending a major hand in the creation of skatepunk — before turning their focus eventually to thrash metal. Early on, the group (whose original lineup included Muir, guitarist Grant Estes, bassist Louiche Mayorga, and drummer Amery Smith) found it increasingly difficult to book shows, due to rumors of its members affiliation with local gangs and consistent violence at their performances. The underground buzz regarding Suicidal Tendencies grew too loud for labels to ignore though, as the quartet signed on with the indie label Frontier; issuing Muir and companys classic self-titled debut in 1983. The album quickly became the best-selling hardcore album up to that point; its best-known track, Institutionalized, was one of the first hardcore punk videos to receive substantial airplay on MTV, and was eventually used in the Emilio Estevez cult classic movie Repo Man, as well as in an episode for the hit TV show Miami Vice (for which the group made a cameo appearance).
Suicidal Tendencies proved influential for future speed/thrash metal bands, but despite its early success, the quartets reputation preceded them, as no other record label was willing to take them on (in addition, Los Angeles banned the group from playing around this time, lasting until the early 90s). Not much was heard from the group for several years afterward (leading many to believe that Suicidal had broken up), but Muir and company eventually found a home with Caroline Records. By this time, half of the original lineup had left; Muir and Mayorga were the only holdovers, while guitarist Rocky George and drummer R.J. Herrera rounded out the group. 1987 saw the release of Suicidals sophomore release, Join the Army, which spawned another popular skatepunk anthem, Possessed to Skate, as more and more metal heads began to be spotted in Suicidals audience. Soon after, Suicidal was finally offered a major-label contract (with Epic), as another lineup change occurred: Mayorga exited the band, while newcomer Bob Heathcote took his spot; and a second guitarist, Mike Clark, was added as well. This Suicidal lineups first album together, 1988s How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Cant Even Smile Today, showed that their transformation from hardcore to heavy metal was now complete, as did a compilation of two earlier EPs, 1989s Controlled by Hatred/Feel Like Shit...Déjà Vu.
Suicidals first release of the new decade, 1990s Lights, Camera, Revolution, was another success; its video for the explosive You Cant Bring Me Down received repeated airings on MTVs Headbangers Ball program, while the album (in addition to the Controlled by Hatred comp) would be certified gold in the U.S. a few years later. The release also signaled the arrival of new bassist Robert Trujillo, whose penchant for funk added a new element to the groups sound. The group tried to broaden their audience even further by opening a string of arena shows for prog-metallists Queensrÿche during the summer of 1991. Their next release, 1992s The Art of Rebellion, proved to be one of Suicidals most musically experimental albums of their career. Muir and Trujillo also teamed up around this time for a funk metal side project, Infectious Grooves (including several other participants, such as Janes Addiction drummer Stephen Perkins) and issued a debut release, The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move. Upset that the groups classic debut had been out of print for several years by this point, Muir decided to re-record the entire record with Suicidals 90s lineup under the title of Still Cyco After All These Years.
But after one more release, 1994s Suicidal for Life, Suicidal Tendencies decided to hang it up. A pair of compilations were issued in 1997: a best-of set, Prime Cuts, plus Friends & Family. Muir and Trujillo continued to issue further Infectious Grooves releases (Sarsippius Ark and Groove Family Cyco), in addition to Muir pursuing a solo career under the alias of Cyco Miko (Lost My Brain Once Again) and Trujillo touring and recording as part of Ozzy Osbournes solo band (appearing on Osbournes 2001 release, Down to Earth). Muir formed a new version of Suicidal Tendencies in the late 90s (with Clark being the only other familiar face), resulting in such further studio releases as 1999s Freedumb and 2000s Free Your Soul and Save My Mind. Muir and Trujillo joined forces once more for a fourth Infectious Grooves studio release in 2000, Mas Borracho; while another Cyco Miko release surfaced, Schizophrenic Born Again Problem Child, along with a follow-up up to their earlier compilation, Friends & Family, Vol. 2.