Suicide Machines survive with 'Battle'

On "Battle Hymns," the Detroit quartet's second major-label album, the band takes what it has been doing for years and upps it a level for one of the most intense offerings released so far this year. The Suicide Machines don't break any new ground here, lots of bands combine ska rhythms and punk tempos, but these musicians do it better than most. There's no annoying horns here, either; this is pure ska-core in the vein of Operation Ivy.

"Battle Hymns" has a much more live feel than the band's previous Hollywood release, "Destruction By Definition." The songs are sharp and jagged, but many of the album's tracks are actually poppier than anything on "Destruction." With 22 songs clocking in at 31 minutes, you could guess that the Machines have two speeds: Hyper and warp.

REVIEW
	Suicide Machines Battle Hymns Hollywood 4 stars Reviewed by Daily Arts Writer Colin Bartos

Although the tempos of the songs don't vary much, you won't catch two tracks that sound at all the same. Pop-ska flavored tracks butt heads with hardcore rants to give "Battle Hymns" a very diverse feel.

The Suicide Machines are about more than mere musical intensity, though. Vocalist Jay Navarro's focused lyrical tirades touch on many important topics on "Battle Hymns." "Confused" and "Step One" tackle the destructiveness and hypocrisy of war. "Black And White World" and "Hating Hate" condemn racism.

"High Society" and "Strike" document the tragedy of the separation between the different socioeconomic strata of society. "In The End" celebrates being different, emphasizing "when you're on the outside looking in, it's all just fashion in the end." Pretty deep subject matter for a "typical punk band," huh?

"Destruction By Definition" was no slouch by industry standards and "Battle Hymns" seems poised for even greater success. Detroit's own has raised its flag and planted it firmly.

No matter what they say in California, people should be proud to stand behind a band like the Suicide Machines, who means what it says and makes you feel it. Take that, L.A.

04-07-98