''Join the Army'' is the second studio album by American

crossover thrash Crossover thrash (often abbreviated to crossover) is a fusion genre of thrash metal and hardcore punk. The genre lies on a continuum between heavy metal and hardcore punk. Other genres on the same continuum, such as metalcore and grindcore, ...

band

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...

. It was released in April 1987, and is one of the most well known albums for crossing over the genres of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

, known as crossover thrash, a genre that Suicidal Tendencies have been credited for creating. ''Join the Army'' is arguably one of Suicidal Tendencies' popular efforts, although it only reached No. 100 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. This was their first album with guitarist

Rocky George Leonard F. George (born January 9, 1965), best known by his stage name Rocky George, is an American guitarist who has been a member of several notable musical acts, including Suicidal Tendencies, where he was their lead guitarist from 1984 to th ...

and drummer R.J. Herrera, and their last recording with bassist Louiche Mayorga (although he did co-write songs on their next album '' How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today''). This is also the last album to feature the band playing

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

before an extended period with a more

focus (on some more recent albums, hardcore punk is again part of the mix).

Musical style

Mike Muir Michael Allen Muir (born March 14, 1963) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist and the only sole continuous member of Los Angeles-based bands Suicidal Tendencies, Los Cycos, and Infectious Grooves. He has also released several solo al ...

used vastly different vocal techniques and range compared to their debut album (sometimes sounding similar to Lemmy from

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

). Original guitarist Grant Estes had been replaced by Jon Nelson in 1984, who was then soon replaced by

, who influenced the change of the band's sound into the thrash direction. Original drummer Amery Smith was replaced by R.J. Herrera, who used the particularly metal drum feature of

double kick The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. T ...

Reception and legacy

Reviews for ''Join the Army'' have been mostly positive.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

's Eduardo Rivadavia awards the album three stars out of five, and calls it "a transitional album in the transformation of the band's sound from hardcore punk to thrash metal." ''Join the Army'' was also the first Suicidal Tendencies album to enter the ''Billboard'' 200; it peaked at No. 100, and remained on the chart for thirteen weeks. "Possessed to Skate" preceded the album's release as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, which also had a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

created for it. The video featured old school

skateboarding tricks A skateboarding trick, or simply a trick, is a maneuver performed by manipulating a skateboard, usually with one's feet, in a specific way to achieve the desired outcome – the trick. History Though skateboards emerged in the 1900s, skateboard ...

, and as such is considered a classic visual

period piece A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swas ...

of skateboarding. The success of ''Join the Army'' garnered attention from major labels, including Epic Records, with whom Suicidal Tendencies would eventually sign in 1988. "War Inside My Head" is featured in the game '' Guitar Hero: Metallica''. "Possessed to Skate" is featured in the game ''

Skate 2 ''Skate 2'' is a skateboarding video game developed by EA Black Box and published by Electronic Arts. The game was released worldwide in January 2009 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 after the spin-off title ''Skate It''. It is the sequel to 2007's ...

''. "Suicidal Maniac" was covered by

Hatebreed Hatebreed is an American hardcore band from Bridgeport, Connecticut, formed in 1994. The band released its debut album '' Satisfaction is the Death of Desire'' in 1997, which gave the band a cult following. The band signed to Universal Records ...

on their 2009 release ''

For the Lions ''For the Lions'' is a cover album by American metalcore band Hatebreed. The album was released on May 5, 2009 through Koch Records.

''. Over the years and with the involvement several line-ups, Suicidal Tendencies have recorded new versions of 10 of the 13 songs originally included in ''Join the Army'', including two different new versions of two of those tracks: "War Inside My Head" and "A Little Each Day" ('' Still Cyco After All These Years''); "Join the Army" and "Go Skate! (Possessed to Skate '97)" ('' Prime Cuts''); "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" (''

Year of the Cycos ''Year of the Cycos'' is a compilation album of bands featuring vocalist Mike Muir, released in 2008. It includes new and previously released songs by Suicidal Tendencies, Infectious Grooves, Cyco Miko and No Mercy. ''Year of the Cycos'' was a ...

''); "Suicidal Maniac", "Possessed to Skate", "The Prisoner", "I Feel Your Pain... And I Survive", "Join the ST Army", "No Name, No Words", and "Born to Be Cyco" (''

No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family ''No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family'' is a studio album by American crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies, released in 2010. It is considered the follow-up to 1993's ''Still Cyco After All These Years''; like that album, it features some re-r ...

'').

Track listing

* "War Inside My Head", "Human Guinea Pig", and "You Got, I Want" were originally written by previous guitarist Jon Nelson. He traded the rights for "War Inside My Head" for a Flying V guitar after he left the band. * A different version of "War Inside My Head" was played live and existed as early as 1982, but with a different arrangement and lyrics. The song is sometimes labeled as "War Inside Myself" on certain bootleg releases but is a entirely different song that appeared on the 2nd Demo in 1982. https://archive.org/details/01WarInsideMyHead/01-war+inside+my+head.mp3 *"Human Guinea Pig" does not appear on vinyl or cassette versions of the album.

Credits

– lead vocals * Louiche Mayorga – bass, backing vocals *

– guitars, backing vocals * R.J. Herrera – drums *Recorded and mixed at Record Plant, Los Angeles, California *Produced by Lester Claypool (not to be confused with

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

) and Suicidal Tendencies *Engineered by Lester Claypool *Guitar and vocals recorded at Baby/O/ *Album cover by Michael Seiff

Chart positions

Album

Billboard (North America)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Join the Army Suicidal Tendencies albums 1987 albums Caroline Records albums Albums recorded at Record Plant (Los Angeles)