The Suicide Machines – A Match and Some Gasoline

Now this band is something different, something very different indeed. Hardcore, fast paced punk with heavy guitar riffs and powerful drum rolls is one side of The Suicide Machines. What’s the other you ask? A ska one, that’s what. Splitting their newest CD, A Match And Some Gasoline, in half are the two genres. I my humble opinion, I believe they would be better staying with the ska side of it all rather then the punk side. But I know many people would disagree with me on that point.

The opening track, Burning In The Aftermath, is a disappointing track in my mind. It is a fast paced one with hard drum rolls and even harder guitar melodies, with vocals which come blasting at you right away. Lyrically, the song is somewhat boring as it repeats itself over and over again. It is a bad way to open the album with. Next we get Did You Ever Get The Feeling Of Dread?, and this one is a much better song, probably one of my favorites on the album. You might’ve guessed it, it’s a ska song. A song which gets you tapping your foot with catchy vocals. It is a much more powerful song.

Keep It A Crime goes back to the punkier sound, a much faster paced song with vocals which you can not understand. Once again a week song, a bad song followed by a better ska song. High Anxiety has catchy vocals, although somewhat simple again, they are still sung in a fantastic way. Going in perfect harmony with the beat as it changes volume of speed depending on the music.

Your Silence comes next, and although it isn’t their best song, it is a song which I do enjoy and one which has the punk rock feel to it. It also had the honor of being the opening track of the Warped Tour 2003 Compilation. Lyrically, this track has the largest amount of words compared to the others. A heavy sounding songs which hard vocals and beat, but also has a little section where they slow it down and go a bit softer. That little change in sound grabs your attention and gets you to listen to the track once more.

By now you should have figured out the pattern for yourself, so I will skip right ahead to the final three tracks, all of which are of the ska nature. The first of the three, track 11, goes by the name of Split The Time and is my second favorite song on the whole album. this ska song has a much harder drum sound then the others, but the vocals are still incredibly evident, mixing a small amount of background vocals also add a little extra. Next we get Kaleidoscope which changes from ska to a more of a punk sound and back a couple times throughout. It is a good song but nothing compared to my favorite and album ender,Politics Of Humanity. It starts off with an amazing guitar riff which is played a couple other times during the song. It is a slow melodic melody which I love. The rhythm changes multiple times from fast to slow and back again all intertwining to create an amazing song. Wait around 6 minutes of dead air and you will then come upon the bonus track. This is one which is completely different from the rest as the tracks as it is acoustic. I like it, although they could do better.

Overall, this CD creates a mixed feeling. Some songs I love while others I find it hard to listen to. You can decide whether you want to risk your money or not on it.