Customer Reviews

Steal This Record

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It seems as if nobody knows about this album. That's a shame, because this CD has the biggest selection of diverse music by the Suicide Machines. It starts out with "The Killing Blow" and the title track, which have sort of an epic feel. It then moves on to "Honor among Thieves" and "It's the End of the World as we Know It ( And I Feel Fine )" which are more alternative rock. "Bleeding Heart" and "The Air we Breathe" could probably be described as light grunge/punk. The next three track, "Stand Up", "Off the Cuff", and "Middle Way" all have their own individual vibes. Finally, the album ends with the last four tracks slowly fading off into "Leap of Faith" 's very last notes. Straight up, just get it, you will be listening to it for years to come. Thank you for your time.

Music nowadays is all about formulas put into records. Once a band has hit the perfect formula that pleases everyone, fans expect them to use the same method over and over again. But eventually they will wear it out, everything will become too repetitive. That's the problem for the Suicide Machines, they created a punk-ska masterpiece with Destruction by Definition, and now fans are [mad] because they deviated from their punk-ska roots. Especially in this genre, too many things sound alike, so they chose to bail on the ska and went for pop-punk, and in my opinion, they sound pretty damn good either way. Steal this record is a symbol of what the band has evolved into over a course of four albums, and while some people aren't happy about this(actually a lot), if you don't give a band room to grow, their sound quality would fall anyway. It seems that critics are mad just because they don't play ska anymore. They haven't discovered that the songwriting has really improved. Like I said, you gotta give a band credit for growing, and Steal this Record is a great model of this.

Steal this Record defines the Suicide Machines. If you loved any of their previous albums, this one is just the icing on the cake. The band has really found who they are and offer the best album I've heard so far this year. From start to finish they give an incredibly wide variety of songs. About half the songs on the album are outstanding, and I loved them the first time i heard them, while the mediocre songs started to grow on me as I listened to the album over and over again. I honestly think this is the best Suicide Machines album, not just in how it sounds, but also what the lyrics stand for. The Suicide Machines offer great messages about dealing with the ups and downs of life, the good friends you have, the bad friends you have, as well as give their messages of anti-hate. The messages aren't lost in the music and the music does not lose the messages. It's all well written, giving its messages without being incredibly symbolic. From the first single, the amazing "the killing blow" to the final track about giving hope to all people who have nothing to hold onto in life "leap of faith", TSM gives the listener some of the best music of the genre. They're out touring at the time this reivew was written, and I'd advise anyone to go see them and pick up this album

This is the Suicide Machines we all know and love. They have now came back to their roots and came out with a cd the caliber of battle hymns. This album basically starts with some decent songs then comes out and grabs at about track seven. The best part is even the mediocre tracks grab you and after a couple listens you love it. If you purchased the last album and didn't like it, get this record. If your a true old school fan of the suicide machines, get this record. If you just like good music, get this record.

Whether you loved or hated the upbeat pop-punk of the Suicide Machines' 3rd release, all memory of the sunniness of that CD will fade from memory as soon as "Steal This Record" kicks in. The menacing opening chords of "The Killing Blow" removes any notions of these guys being sellouts and firmly re-establishes them as forerunners on the aggressive punk scene.

One of their more ideal albums, Steal This Record finds the Machines taking on the record industry ("Steal This Record,") capitalism ("The Air We Breathe,") and racism ("All My People.") They even do a fiery cover of R.E.M's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" and the result is enough to make any punk unashamed to shout "Leonard Bernstein!" without a trace of irony.

Strangely enough, in the midst of all this hostility, the album shines brightest when the tempo drops. The two best songs of all are the album-closing soul searcher "Leap Of Faith" and the socio-political reggae number "Stand Up," on which the Machines relate their views on everything from race relations to abortion.

So, steal this record if you want to, but keep in mind that this one is worth shelling out the dollars for.

I own all 4 of the Suicide Machine's albums, and each one has a very different Sound. Destruction by Definition is incredibly fast pop-punk-ska-reggae-whatever music. It sounds like angry teenagers who have yet to define a sound but just want people to get along. Then comes the ultra-fast no-song-more-than-2-minutes-Battle Hymns. Then comes the s/t album and it could not be more different than Battle Hymns. It is much slower and even has a couple of symphonies in it. Finally, we arrive at "Steal this Record," the most polished and crisp sounding of their releases. If you are a die-hard fan of their first 2 cds and aren't open to other types of music, you may hate this change. But if you like the basic punk sound with a few variations, good lyrics, great harmonies and a positive message, then you should love this cd. "Stand Up" is probably the best song that SM have ever written. The message is great and the tune never gets out of your head. There are a couple songs that aren't up to SM standards on this cd, but it is easy to listen to the entire thing without wanting to change a track. This cd doesn't have much ska and has slowed down again, but keeps a good steady pace. Give this album a try. Their new Cd comes out June 17...who knows what kind of music to expect. But if it is consistent with SM's first 4 cd's, it will be damn good.

This is by far the worst Suicide Machines album yet. On this album, the band manages to combine the worst elements of Battle Hymns and their self-titled album. The album lacks the energy of Battle Hymns, or the poppy sing-along qualities of their last effort. Many songs sound like recycled versions of Green Day or Thunk tunes. For those who were hoping that the Suicide Machines would return to their roots of fun ska-punk, this album is a let-down.

I've been playing this cd on the radio for the last month (and I just bought it, now that it is finally in stores) and I'd have to say that it is a good album. It is much better than The Suicide Machines' last album, but not as good as "Destruction by Definition" (but then again very few albums, if any, are as good as "Destruction by Definition"). I think that this cd is similar in quality to "Battle Hymns", but I haven't decided which album I like more, so if you liked "Battle Hymns" I would recommend that you buy "Steal This Record" because it is sweet. I hope everyone enjoys this album and if you don't I'm sorry.

Everyone seems to think this CD is so bad just 'cause it doesn't sound like DBD and Battle Hymns. I think I was reading reviews somewhere criticizing this CD for not having any horns section. Um... if I remember correctly their debut album had maybe 2 songs with horns on it and Battle Hymns had none.

But this CD anyway. This CD is a solid effort by an awesome band to return to their edgier sound but also to grow into something new. The result is a very catchy CD that explores many diverse sounds but ultimately lays its roots in pop-punk.

Nobody wants to give a pop-punk CD a good rating because in modern culture pop-punk has been associated with bands like Good Charlotte and New Found Glory. Well fella, hate to say it, but on some tracks like "Middle Way" and "Honor Among Theives" they do sound a little like those bands. What's cool is that they can play a song like that and then some back with songs like "Off the Cuff" and continue to blow your face off with speedy punk riffs and screaming hardcore vocals from one Jay Navarro. That my friends, is why this is my favorite band.

In the end this CD does a lot of exploring, venturing into street punk, reggae, pop-punk, hardcore, and the like. The guitar, while not very complicated, is catchy and fun and sounds like songs that would be fun to learn to play yourself. The bass is a little underutilized again, but oh well, they wouldn't really start to use the bass again till Rich joined the band. This is a really good CD, it may take a little while to grow on you if you were looking for post-millenium Suicide Machines, but ultimately it WILL grow on you and you will learn to love it.

Standout tracks: "Off the Cuff" "Scars" "Unbreakable"

... this album is great. It may not be ska, but lets face it; they gave up ska with Battle Hymns. As far as newer almost-poppy sounding punk goes, almost every song is excellent. Definitely a big improvement and a pleasant surprise from their self-titled album.

If you've seen them live, you'd know that they can still pull off every song from Destruction by Definition with flying colors. They just need to start writing music like it again =)