Suspected Terrorists

Now Wave Zine
Suspected Terrorists
self-titled CD
Adept Recordings)

(REVIEW BY RUTLEDGE)

Suspected Terrorists posit themselves as a modern equivalent to the '80s hardcore bands that raged against Ronald Reagan and the prevailing conservatism of the time. Certainly we could use a band or two like that right now. I mean, come on: the current administration's trampling of civil liberties, arrogant disregard for checks and balances, and self-serving fear-mongering make old Ronnie's worst excesses look like small potatoes! Surely these times ought to inspire some social protest hardcore on a par with the Reagan Youths, Dead Kennedys, and MDCs of yesteryear, right? Right!

One thing you've got to give Suspected Terrorists is that they've got the chops to really put some bite into their message. Having played together for two decades in various bands, these three boast a tightness, technical skill, and versatility across musical genres that the typical hardcore band could never approach. Yet they attack the hardcore punk style with such aggression and fury that you'd swear they were fresh-faced kids just starting out. Mostly ripping out loud-and-fast sub two-minute blitzers that broil with anger and conviction, Suspected Terrorists are really into it all the way. Yet this is far more than bare-bones hardcore. Guitarist Chris Willems tends to play in a far-out, squealing style redolent of Bob Mould or Greg Sage, and songs like the sludgy opener "I Walk the Earth" prove that this group doesn't need to go a million miles an hour just to make an impression. There's even an instrumental on the disc - which evidences the trio's experience with jazz and the blues. And whether it's bassist Dan Willems or drummer Heather Floyd singing, the vocals are belted with pissed-off ferocity. Spiritually and sonically, Suspected Terrorists bring back the very best of early '80s hardcore.

- Now Wav Zine

Suspected Terrorists, alongside Gaj Mustafa Cell and The Touched, represent a new breed of local punk rock that has much more in common with the original cast of local yokels, like early Circle X and the entire roster of the extraordinary “Bold Beginnings: an Incomplete Collection of Louisville Punk 1978-83.”

In other words, Suspected Terrorists tap the center of the pale of the first wave of punk rock, as told by the aural histories found on the Killed By Death, Bloodstains and Messthetics compilations — all of which are to the punk world what the “Nuggets” collections are to 1960s psychedelic garage rock.

“The lyrics are most important; they hold the meaning of our songs,” says Dan Willems, ST’s singer and bass player. “The idea is to leave no doubt about what we’re saying, and how we’re saying it.”
Songs like “Patriot Act,” “Mr. America” (“So little time/So much to buy”), “Shoot You In The Back” (“Deadly force is a lazy cop/Who’ll pull the trigger and …”), “Henry Ford is Dead (and I’m glad)” (“Henry Ford gave you a choice/Work or die for him/he shot at the union rally/Was loved by the Nazi Party”) and “Torture Island” (”Guantanamo Bay”) give the band’s scathing message a relevance that is missing in the lion’s share of contemporary music.

Combined with a musical rapport honed over more than 20 years of playing together in various bands, and what you have is easily one of the best debut albums ever written and recorded in Louisville.
- Leo Weekly (Louisville, KY)