Let’s get one thing straight right from the start. If you’re one of those semi-deluded cats who wears a tin-foil hat, believes in chem trails, thinks that the moon landings were faked and that Suicidal Tendencies will ever release a record that measures up to the brilliance of their ’83 debut, then it’s time to take your medication, leave the room for half an hour and come back when the pills have kicked in. Hey I’m not running Mike Muir and company down, I love Suicidal and still spin Join the Army and Lights, Camera… three decades after they first became part of my staple musical diet. But their self-titled debut, that was lightning in a bottle and no band, no matter who they were or are, could ever live up to that legacy let alone hope to repeat it. Not even Suicidal. So check your expectations at the door, let the meds take care of your unrealistic and disproportionate disappointment and let’s talk Still Cyco .

Thing is, most bands wish they could write a record as good as Still Cyco. Taking its musical cue, and inspiration, from Join the Army and the first Infectious Grooves record, The Plague that Makes Your Booty… and infusing its tunes with the same sort of energy and a little of the anger that originally propelled ST through the ranks of the Hardcore scene, Still Cyco is probably the best thing that Suicidal have written, put their name to and released since the dawn of the twenty first century. They’ve eased back on the metal, increased the HC, thrown in a little funk and embraced Crossover again and in doing so, have created a genuine Dogtown Hardcore classic.

Oh, and according to my aging scenester powers of prediction, Gonna Be Alright  (a bona fide ripper that appears on, and is one of the highlights of, Still Cyco) should become a regular feature in the ST set list for the next twenty years, as that shit is both dope and tight. Which I’ve been reliably informed by someone who is far more hip and happening than me is young people slang that means it\’s bloody good. Which it is. Seriously bloody good. So no, Still Cyco isn’t Suicidal Tendencies Part II, but you know what? It was never meant to be, because Suicidal Tendencies was then and Still Cyco is now. And any band that can crank out a record as good as this is nearly four decades after they first hit a stage should make everyone stand up, take notice and get themselves in tip top, pit ready shape. It\’s time to get Suicidal… Tim Cundle