Suicide Machines - War Profiteering Is Killing Us All

  by Alex Halls

published: 17 / 9 / 2005

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With a meagre five albums behind the band despite their inception in 1991, the Suicide Machines return with album number six, the fourteen-track 'War Profiteering Is Killing Us All', which is released on Side One Dummy records. Even if the pace of album releases has picked up of late, the Suicide Machines continue to tour as much as possible and this could be the reason why the band are able to keep a consistent quality running through their albums: there’s no rush in the writing process and plenty of experience to draw upon, ever present in 'War Profiteering'. Originally playing the Detroit area, the Suicide Machines; Jason Navarro (vocals); Ryan Vandeberghe (drums); Dan Lukacinsky (guitar, vocals); and Rich Tschirhart (bass) have numerous tours under their belt, having stepped foot in the UK and Europe, where they will return in early 2006, every time promising exciting shows and the best music they can muster, and, it has to be said, delivering on all counts. There seems to be everything included within this album: fast punk rock; ska; even metal and hardcore segments which can be witnessed in 'Capsule'. It is these eclectic moments that make 'War Profiteering' absolutely superb as the Suicide Machines appear to have mastered each genre: it, therefore, follows that 'War Profiteering' exhibits a high level of energy throughout. There are moments on the album that are inherently the same as the music performed by New York hardcore maestros Sick Of It All but what the Suicide Machines do well is not to continue in this vein for long, rather choosing to break up the sound of this album by using the different genres. Yet, whilst discourse may inevitably follow regarding the possible undesirability of these stylistic changes, argumentatively it must be forwarded that, due to the ska having real bite at times ('Capitalist Suicide'), these stylistic changes fit in with the music that surrounds them. The record doesn’t just switch styles between tracks: the tracks themselves prove to be varied. This can manifestly be seen in 'Nuclear Generators', where the alternation of harder and softer refrains turn it into the perfect gig song as it bursts with momentary energy, enhancing the listener’s enthusiasm, before lulling briefly, letting them rest, and repeating the whole cycle several times over in order to leave one exhausted but at the same time refreshed. 'Junk' has the same catchiness that threw the Mighty Mighty Bosstones into the limelight, capturing the very essence of ska-punk: the essence that it should cross between the popular and the independent but still remaining alternative at heart. Where the sound could become stale, the Suicide Machines introduce small guitar solos, such as in 'Hands Tied', further fragmenting the music, but never to the point where it lacks cohesion. On top of this, lead singer, Jason Navarro utilises a mixture of slurred vocals, gruff vocals ('All Systems Fail') and plainly spoken lyrics to alter the sound and pace of songs on 'War Profiteering': one simply has to admire his efforts. The album does dig at materialism ('Ghost on Sunset Strip') but on the whole doesn’t go far enough in its admonishment of society’s faults. 'War Profiteering Is Killing Us All', by its very name, gives us the indication that the Suicide Machines are out to inform us politically, yet it is only with the final track that this is truly satisfied. This untitled track identifies the U.S. media’s poor portrayal of the world in its entirety, attacking the American ignorance of individual countries' cultures and beauty, where the concentration is to rather focus on the famines and poverty, both of which are present in the U.S. too. Whilst the Suicide Machines aren’t covering anything particularly new, there is a certain freshness about the ska which fits in particularly well with the punkier moments on 'War Profiteering'. Few bands are bold enough to use this musical strategy but maybe they should as it certainly works for the Suicide Machines.

Track Listing:-

1 War Profiteering Is Killing Us All
2 Capitalist Suicide
3 Ghosts On Sunset Strip
4 Junk
5 17% 18 - 25
6 Capsule (AKA Requiem For The Stupid Human Race)
7 All Systems Fail
8 Red Flag
9 Nuclear Generators
10 Bottomed Out
11 Rebellion Is On The Clearance Rack (And I Think I Like It)
12 Hands Tied
13 I Went On Tour for Ten Years And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
14 95% Of The World Is Third World

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