In an industry where everything is either hit or miss with sometimes the misses becoming hits for some reason, it’s great to listen to a band that doesn’t care if it strikes out with one release (Must’ve Been High) or makes it big with another (Mutha Fu*ckers Be Trippin’). I think that’s admirable and I love the Supersuckers, although most people may not feel the same way. This supposedly tarnished band has been around since the early nineties and has done tons to earn some respect, but sadly gets none. Not only are they one of the most original satanic punk/folk bands out there, but they offer some of the best live shows on Earth. This small time band from the mid-west will surely hit it big in the big music community, but until then I remain alone in thinking that Supersuckers may be one of the coolest bands out there right now.

A little while back I published a Supersuckers review, which is supposed to be part of a “series” if you could call it that, but lately I had been totally lazy to release another review about them—until now. I don’t know what happened, but I received a certain “spark” that made this review possible. In 1995 The Supersuckers began work on a new album. Following the abrupt departure of Ron Heathman, the guitarist, they recruited Rick Simms from Didjit and went to Texas to record The Sacrilicious Sounds of The Supersuckers with Paul Leary of The Butthole Surfers. Luckily Ron Heathman returned with no sourness between him and the band. Something that’s weird, though, is that I didn’t notice any style change between Heathman’s guitar playing and Rick Simms’ work. That’s pretty weird, but then again they are both good guitarists.

The Supersuckers are close friends with the punks known as Zeke so, as you might guess, they sound a little bit like Zeke, but they also sound like a cross between a folksy version of Leftover Crack. It’s ultra hard to explain how The Supersuckers sound because they sound so unlike any band out there. They sound like…themselves! They sing songs mostly about Satanism, drinking, and shooting up drugs, but among those pretty controversial lyrics they write songs about hanging out, having fun, and not letting go of their roots. Their lyrics, if analyzed by an awesome fellow like myself, really reflect a mixture between In Flames with Dead Kennedys and Barenaked Ladies. I don’t know how all of these bands could have made love and popped out The Supersuckers, but you’d better believe it. Sacrilicious is their fourth release and by far one of their most insightful filled to the brim with really gorgeous rhythms, great lyrics, and some of the best songs of the band’s career.

The only thing that sucks with Sacrilicious is that they lose some of their focus halfway through the album making the second half much less entertaining than the first. Sure, I still listen to the second half with my favorites such as Ozzy and Don’t Go Blue, but tracks like Retarded Bill and Run Like A Motherf*cker make it a pick-and-choose session. The second half is still enjoyable, but only when it’s background music. For instance, if I’m playing a game, hanging out with friends, or doing homework then it’s perfect music, but when I’m mowing the lawn or listening to it with my headphones on the bus, then I usually skip some songs that are on the second half. It’s not that the songs suck—the instrumentation on Hittin’ The Gravel and the lyrics on My Victim are good—but they just lack the creative spark that’s spray painted all over Sacrilicious.

Ron Heathman and Dan Bolton are the dual guitarists of The Supersuckers and even though they are great guitarists, some of their stuff seems a little robotic in Sacrilicious. Luckily they loose up during live shows, but it really makes some of the songs (especially on the second half) suffer. On the flip side, though, they play with huge Jackson guitars with the big metal whammy bar and The Heath Man really knows how to lay down some whammy mechanics to make each song echo with static and flare. Eddie Spaghetti is the lead singer and bassist of the group and also one of the most talented musicians I have ever heard. He adds humorous sparkle to every song that he touches and his songwriting talents are overwhelming. He really knows how to create harmony and ride it the whole song. His bass work is also unbelievable, but you have to really listen hard to hear it since the guitarists’ guitars are screeching every song. Dancing Eagle once again lends his drumming talent to The Supersuckers and lays down the smackdown on the skins in Sacrilicious. He unleashes a huge horde of tom waves and well produced cymbal smacks to create some of the best beats of his career.

“But what about the songs?” you ask. There are many good ones to be found here like the finishing track entitled Don’t Go Blue, which is my favorite Supersuckers track. It is a country/blues song that eventually gives them the creative energy to produce their country themed Must’ve Been High record. I love this song because it’s so catchy, but it’s so slow and moody. I love the song and it’s a perfect bittersweet end to an album like this. The first track, though, named Bad, Bad, Bad is the complete opposite. It leads you into the CD with an awe-inspiring guitar lick that kicks you in the nuts while the drums are holding you down. The song is totally bad*ss and I love it. The second track, Born With A Tail, is the band’s most popular and a huge crowd favorite at shows because it’s so well executed and catchy. It’s the title track and another one of my favorite SS songs. “You know / I’m in league with Satan / And you know / There can be no debating / My hell bound trail / I was born with a tail” Another good song is the sixth song called Money Into Sin, which is a song that’s perfect in every way with the instrumentation that’s to die for. Creativity is streaming out of this song’s pours what with the great tom action by Dancing Eagle and the nice Led Zeppelin wave of guitarness pouring in from Bolton and Heathman.

There’s much to like about the Supersuckers and this release in particular. It offers much more depth than their faster styled playing that they displayed in some of their earlier efforts and it has a certain glimmer that makes it well loved among the community of Supersuckers fans. I love all of the songs on this release except when it gets to the ninth song. That’s when the focus just loses focus and you can easily spot that when you listen to the record. The songs aren’t as catchy and the band doesn’t really show off as much interesting guitar techniques as in the first half. My only hope of writing this review is that I have put a spotlight on the Supersuckers so that you, who might know nothing about them, will take the leap and pick up one of their CDs and try it. I am sure you will love them and although their lyrics and themes may be controversial, originality and inventiveness is practically coming out their butts. I like this album and hopefully you will too if you give them a shot.

© Jason Haskins, 2004

“JiggyJay”






Tracks

01. Bad, Bad, Bad
02. Born With A Tail
03. The 19th Most Powerful Women In Rock
04. Doublewide
05. Bad Dog
06. Money Into Sin
07. Marie
08. The About That
09. Ozzy
10. Run Like A Mother*ucker
11. Hittin’ The Gravel
12. Stoned If You Want It
13. My Victim
14. Don’t Go Blue



Related Reviews

The Supersuckers – The Smoke of Hell




Recommended: Yes