Search - Suicide Machines :: War Profiteering Is Killing Us All

An outstanding album to wrap up an outstanding career.

Brent M. | south-eastern Ohio, USA | 08/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Whew, The Suicide Machines, what can I say? With their 6th and saldy, final studio album, this Detroit-based quartet go out with a bang. This is by far their heaviest and most brutal album, and that just may be the reason why it is my second favorite, next to Destrucion by Definition, of course. There are a few breaks in the action, such as the bass driven, "Junk", track number four, and the punk-ish, "Bottomed Out", track number ten. The album then continues to finish up with the last 3 tracks being a bit less intense, but by all means still great. The lyrics in track thirteen are saddening if you actually listen, because Jay seems as if he regrets the path he's taken for the past 15 years of his life. For the most part, however, "War Profiteering is Killing us All" is a rebellion against Bush and modern politics. Although this album may be filled with great, great songs, I'm going to try to pick out my top favorites here :



2. Capitalist Suicide - I wouldn't exactly call it a "single", but I'd say it's the most familiar with people as far as this CD goes. This song just flows well, it'll be stuck in your head forever.

3. Ghost On Sunset Strip - It kind of reminds me of the Suicide Machines we saw on "A Match and Some Gasoline". It's upbeat, catchy, and the chorus is great.

4. Junk - Wow. Some powerful bass on this song, I think that's what makes it great, too. This track almost sounds live. I'd have to say it's tied for my favorite on the CD. "Is all your integrity gone?"

8. Red Flag - Can you say transitions? This song is very brutal at times, and at other it's that signature in-your-face punk only The Suicide Machines can do.

11. Rebellion Is On The Clearance Rack ( And I Think I Like It ) - The opening of this song will have you jumping off of a bridge and banging your head against cement. It's very heavy and I love the section where only Ryan and Jay are audible, "Let's let those f***ers win!"

12. Hands Tied - Ahh, sweet ska. This is the track that's tied with "Junk" as my favorite. I STILL cannot stop listening to this one. The bass solo is a killer idea.



Even though I still think The Suicide Machines could have gone on for many more years and made so much more great music, ( that I definitely would have gotten my hands on, no matter how I had to ) they've decided to put their career to a halt. I respect them for all of the music they've made and times they made my life awesome. Don't miss out on the last great album from TSM. Thank you for your time."

Completing the political transition, and it's not half bad

Nick Colosi | Chesterland, OH, USA | 08/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So, first, a quick history lesson. I'm a relatively new fan of the Suicide Machines. After hearing "High Anxiety" on Tony Hawk's Underground 2, I went out and bought A Match and Some Gasoline, and since that was an amazing CD, I went out probably a week or two later and bought their debut, Destruction by Definition. I'm hoping to get Battle Hymes and Steal this Record soon, but haven't had a ton of luck finding it in stores.



Anyway, on to the new one. For their sixth time around, the Suicide Machines have made a few changes, some good, some bad, but we could say this is pretty much a CD that familiarizes the machines with the new grounds they broke into with their debut on Sideonedummy. What with the hardcore screaming and the politics, we could say this is A Match and Some Gasoline, taken up a notch or two. It's an amazing CD, let's start by saying that, and I've been playing it almost every day despite the fact that I've bought 3 other CDs in the same week that I bought this one. Jay really brings that energy that we know from their debut album as well as alot of turbo charge anger, shall we say, that he showed us in their previous works. My only concern/criticism on this CD, is the way they're slowly but surely moving away from the punk scene. In a few songs, Capsule and All Systems Fail in particular, they drop the fast paced beat for a slow almost droning scream (We dig our own grave) which sounds like something you might find on a Lamb of God CD, and since I'm not a Lamb of God fan, or a fan of any heavy metal for that matter, I don't know if that's the greatest thing. Now I don't mind the screaming, in fact, when the energy is there, the screaming complements it well. For example, as heavy as it is, the title track blew me away when I heard it for the first time, because it's still got that old Suicide Machines energy that makes you wanna get up and jump around... or in this case maybe bang your head on something, all the same. However, some of the highlight tracks on the CD are the ones that are going back to some of the old catchy punk-ska theme that the guys started back in 96. These highlight tracks would be "Ghost on the sunset strip" "Junk" "Bottomed Out" and "Hands Tied" All in all, I say buy it if you've ever even considered the Suicide Machines, but keep an open mind, 'cause they play around with a few new concept that aren't exactly punk-ish."