Suicideo, The Influence of Suicidal Tendencies' Video Catalogue

The realm of elite sonic craftsmanship versus the not so hot dud acts lulling in the sea of obscurity is not the only criteria for assessing musical success. There is a circle of factors that can pump triumph into a band for all reasons other than their musical quality. Live performances, aesthetic, gimmicks, disses, costumes, mythical lore and whatever else you can run off your fingers are all contributing factors (however much the gatekeepers of all that is musically holy might not want to admit). One attribute that I feel still hasn’t been exercised to its full potential by a majority of bands over the years is the use of visual media in that of the music video. Of course, within the underground ranks there is the double-edged sword of not having enough money to warrant the production of such an intimidating endeavour along with running the risk of becoming the village idiot, drowning helplessly in in the jeers of the herd. However, when practised correctly I think it could be strongly argued that a consistent and clear aesthetic running throughout a band’s career can be accentuated to the max by how they formulate themselves in the video medium. To illustrate the wider point to the best of my ability and also just so I find and excuse to write about one of my GOATs, this article will start and end with Suicidal Tendencies. So many things about this group played their own respective parts in luring me into the world of Cyco Miko and co. More importantly, it is the careful layering of an uncompromising aesthetic, intelligent lyrical themes and down-right laughable high jinks, all captured in one effortless breath that keeps me revisiting this band. What I will try to unravel in the body of this work is what made Suicidal Tendencies’ music videos so great compared to their contemporaries; how they influenced many other hardcore and metal acts to come and assess which ingredients can be used for one’s own success in the art of cooking up spicy video masalas.

Hard to believe the guy in this video is a very
young Mike Muir (also displayed top left)

No one has ever gone wrong from starting at the beginning so that’s where I’ll place my starting line for this piece (Gaspar Noé would probably disagree). What was so groundbreaking about your favourite crossover cholos from Venice Beach? Well, its the transformation undergone once Glen E. Friedman got his claws into them that contravenes any assumption Suicidal were always the outfit presented in their debut single. Here’s an early inception of ST playing in 1981 and with cutting them as much slack as possible for obviously being insanely young, the display on show could be summed up as everything that is “typical” about a no thrills Southern California hardcore band. At this point there is absolutely nothing setting apart this gang of Suicidal babies from the more established acts of the time. The quartet come off largely as a product of their circumstances, looking up to their gang banging and grave robbing forefathers in that of TSOL, Circle Jerks, FEAR etc and umpteen other younger outfits riddled with dysfunctional personalities (China White, DI, Battalion of Saints and Circle One to name a few).

Fast forward to 1984 and BAM, ‘Institutionalized’ is absolutely flooring audiences left right and centre due to Bill Fishman’s stellar work. The carefully crafted video for the single and new found headdresses are offending the conservative mainstream, confirming what they already suspected about the so called “violent and nihilistic” subculture of punk; violently abhorring punk purists with its slick production package; alerting the relevant authorities to all the gang affiliated references littered across each frame and is doing all of this while cultivating a whole nation of young Suicidal thrashers. I sort of imagine this same explosion of ST like the more recent phenomenon of multi-coloured braids and face tattooed hallmarks of the emo rap/trap scene from the likes of Lil Uzi or Lil Peep in the sense that it’s a bunch of kids just saying “Yeah, this is who we are and this what we like, fuck you if you don’t like it.” The emo rappers definitely wound up the old school hip-hop guardians and ignited a whole new generation of fans in their wake that no one ever even knew was there. Suicidal took elements of what seemed to be an unlikely match from the outside-world’s perspective of cholo culture along with surfing, slamming and skateboarding hardcore punk, fusing them in holy matrimony. Innovative? Yes. Something invented by the band? Perhaps not. The key ingredient to the Suicidal formula was taking two elements that were already harmonising together unbeknown to those outside the bubble of Venice Beach and becoming the flag bearers of a movement in infancy.

Headie and RV turned a loss into a win contrary to
public belief. This video changed the consensus on their sticky
situation overnight and became one of the most viewed
UK drill videos at the time.

Once one has created an army that is a force to be reckoned with, will this army simply carry on where its leader left off in keeping with the loyalty, discipline and dominance first instilled through said leader’s original charisma? History has shown us that this not always the case, and the departure of one single soul from a movement can be its ultimate downfall. ST recognised this and after all the bullet-holed carnage that would ensue after the release of the 1983 debut, the 1986 reformation of the group realised power would need to be consolidated…and fast! The ‘Possessed to Skate’ video is a textbook example of turning an L into a W (a skill when best practised can be thekey success in an artist’s career, see Headie One ‘Know Better’). Originally being a gracious offering for the band to be part of a feature film; the only emerging footage to see the light of day from the failed motion picture would be the Possessed to Skate video. This footage picks up exactly where Institutionalized left off, even down to the same actress (Mary Woronov) playing the all-American mom! The video not only drafted in the same comical narrative that made Institutionalized successful but helped solidify the band’s skater/graffiti credentials (Mike’s brother Jim being the link up) and tell audiences the previous video was definitely not a one-off TV special.

According to Mike Clarke, the shot of John Cusack was filmed
for a  video made for 'Join the Army' but shooting was ended
prematurely  when a huge gang fight broke out during filming.

Come 1988 and things get interesting. An Epic Records deal is signed off the back of the Possessed to Skate video which probably caught A and R reps’ attention after kids nationwide were draining back-garden swimming pools to skate in. Trip at the Brain is my personal favourite Suicidal Tendencies video and sums up all the best takeaways from the band that I feel go unnoticed by haters and lovers of the group. The video is draped in tongue-in-cheek humour but manages to balance that perfectly with metaphorical nods to more serious themes to do with mental health, introspection, lethargy and potential drug use. The spectacles in the video are standout, the climax being the band performing on top of a brain?! Mike manages to slip the marketing tool of wearing his own merch in videos in a way that actually makes the polo shirt look like the uniform of the 'inmate' in the video that he’s portraying. Seriously, hats off! And finally, there is still all the outlandishly brilliant fashion choices showing no signs of departure from the Suicidal gang aesthetic responsible for the original levels of infamy in 1983. This aesthetic arguably went on to influence a load of participants on the East Coast that would flourish in the next few years. Bands like Biohazard, All Out War and Earth Crisis would don bandannas while Danny Diablo, Stigma and a heap of others would be far more comfortable with the fedora, one of which Mike is wearing in this very video! Also, did anyone else notice John Cusack half way through this video calling us all maggots?

There's gotta be some kind of cash prize for
anyone who can name each NYHC character
in this classroom photo from the 'Punishment' video shoot.

You Can’t Bring Me Down is the final blow in Suicidal’s twelve-round success streak and sets a similar game changing influence via visuals that the original Institutionalized video did in 1984. There is a stark change in vibe to a much more serious tone in the music but this is hammered home completely by the use of monochrome visuals and the impending doom of the video narrative. Christ, this video is almost hip-hopesque in some parts, showing that ST were once again one step ahead of the curve. Mike had already been dipping his toe into hip-hop by breaking out into a full scale rap flow on Trip at the Brain and was ready to now turn up the heat on this video. This might be a reach but take a look at this Eric B. & Rakim video. Whilst the format isn’t by an means identical, the seriousness of the black and white tones working with the austerity of the duo rapping with their crew behind them or in a packed out party definitely served as a reference point for the aforementioned Suicidal video. I’d even go as far as to say You Can’t Bring Me Down set the template for the whole tough guy metal/hardcore video subgenre that was followed by so many bands after. Just take the iconic ‘Punishment’ video by Biohazard. Its not hard to see all the blatant similarities with Suicidal from the bandannas and washed out colours all the way to the entire ensemble of DMS cackling away in most of the shots as the Suicidal henchmen bash against the fence in YCBMD.

Sadly, Suicidal wouldn’t be able to visually top anything after this record and the decline ensued. However, the 10 years building up to this video in carving out a unique aesthetic, pushed via ingenious music videos had already done enough foundational work to cultivate a die-hard fan base and open the door to the art of the aggressive-music video which would take many forms throughout the 90s and beyond. I think this is where ST's legacy really shines in a way most other bands just couldn’t muster. It’s a harsh truth but many would absolutely swear by East Coast contemporaries, Cro Mags when it comes to pure musical output and would probably agree that their music far exceeds how well they are remembered by most. Perhaps if they’d had someone of similar visionary capability to Friedman then they could have pushed the boat out further. Alpha and Omega is an amazing album whichever way you square it but I would be hard pressed to agree that the video for ‘Path to Perfection’ matches the same grandeur and dare I say it…might even take away from how hard hitting that album is (honestly this video is a sore cheese fest of Faith No More style visuals dancing violently over shots of a band who really don’t look like they feel comfortable on camera).

Could we take a step back for a second and appreciate how similar the 

above FNM track sounds to Alpha and Omega 'Mags (Courtesy of Augie B)

I want to finish off by saying that this shouldn’t be taken as a shitfest on all the bands mentioned in this article that aren’t ST as all those bands are musically and aesthetically pioneering in their own right and deserve the accolades they have collected. My main point is that if harnessed properly, there is no telling where that extra special synergy of cleverly crafted video visuals with a solidified aesthetic can take you and ST have been the originating force in taking this philosophy to its natural conclusion. Just take TRC for example, they would be nowhere near what they are without the videos! Ultimately, ST recognised that there was a gap in the market in terms which they could fill culturally, ethnically and musically. They were sharp enough to realise there was a whole disjointed network of kids from similar backgrounds all discovering punk for the first time through all sorts of mediums. The videos were a tool used in the unification of this previously untapped section of society by reflecting back at the audience their own unadulterated diversity. For that, I have infinite respect going beyond what Suicidal Tendencies tracked to tape and it is for this reason I will always be a member of the SUICIDAL ARMY.  

My band, Lawful Killing playing a Halloween concert,
I took the liberty of dressing up as Mike.