Suicidal Tendencies - 'Live At The Olympic Auditorium'

Classic Cali thrash/hardcore punk crossover act releases its first ever DVD focusing on an energetic, lively performance. Unfortunately, there is virtually no extra material.

A two-year breakup period notwithstanding, Suicidal Tendencies have plugged away since 1981. In its earliest of days, as Mike Muir's brief but passionate interview in Live At The Olympic Auditorium indicates, the band had no ambition of doing anything other than practicing in their kitchen for fun (or playing their own "rent parties"). It's been a long time, and they've come a long way. And the performance on this DVD, showcasing their idiosyncratic, highly-unique street punk/thrash hybrid, reveals a band as energetic as bands half their age.

In light of the fact that the formerly punk-friendly Olympic Auditorium was about to be turned into a Korean church (and keep in mind that ST had been banned from playing LA for years), Muir characteristically took the opportunity to take a jab at the establishment with his banter preceding "Send Me Your Money," a mocking ode to corrupt televangilism. The stench of irony surely couldn't have been lost on the thinking man whose words between songs are regularly delivered like a sermon coalescing ST's fans into a pseudo cult of sorts. The key difference, paradoxically, is that he preaches a message of individuality.

Notable members like guitarist Rocky George, drummer Jimmy DeGrasso and current Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo have in the past spent time alongside Muir, the only remaining original member, yet he has without a doubt always been the band's core. Yet while the current lineup may differ completely from fan favorite "classic" periods, they don't sound like a troupe of hired guns. Air-tight in delivery, they throw in dashes of funk, blues and rock into a mix that's much more heavy on the punk dynamic ("Institutionalized") rather than the metallic one.

But Live At The Olympic Auditorium is far from perfect, chiefly because of its limited content. For a band that has spanned four decades now, there's surely great richness in their vault: show flyers, camcorder footage, music videos, behind-the-scenes footage. Instead, the performance is preceded by the aforementioned Muir interview, and that's it? And if the performance was recorded way back in October 2005, why the hell has it taken so long to be released?