Cyco Miko

Suicible Tendancies
*Lost My Brain! (Once Again)
*Schizophrenic Born Again Problem Child

Lost My Brain! (Once Again) - Sony 1995.
Rating = 7

Considering he has about eighty-two jillion different bands (best known of which: Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves), it's not quite clear why Mike Muir found it necessary to issue a "solo" album. This becomes even less clear when you listen to it and discover that most of it is fairly disposable midtempo punk rock songs that all go on for way way WAY too long (only 4 of the 11 songs are under four minutes!!!). But fat the whuck - the dude has an enjoyably oafish football player voice, the music all sounds like late-period Circle Jerks (aside from the Suicidal-sounding psychopower ballad "Save A Peace For Me") which isn't a bad thing since most of the cute little riffs are catchy enough and you can find the disc in every cheapy bin in America, so whack the fut?

Interestingly, the very next Suicidal Tendencies album sounded like this, a complete 359 from the previous funk metal outing. But now they're back to funk metal so enjoy your Mike Muir punk rock sellout fix whilst you could! If you missed it when it actually occurred, all you need are 13.21 jigawatts of plutonium to get Christopher Lloyd's time machine to work.

Reader Comments

Suijedi@aol.com
Sellout! Please,have you ever listened to the album "Suicidal For Life",like a sellout would write those kind of lyrics hoping for extra radio play.I believe he was at a crossroads in his musical career and unsure if thre would be another S.T. album.I think it was just a musician wanting to keep on keeping on,with no reson not to.Sure the album had its own flow to it,but have you heard the import version with the song "Ain't Messing Around",if you have not you should check it out solid tune.I don't know I am a hardcore Mike Muir fan and can relate to his lyrics more each time I here them,if not overplayed.If you compare it to what is out there you find a lot less talent making it big,versus a man that likes to make his own record company.And not one time in 5 did I not get a chance at an autograph and handshake as he relates with his fans.No the word sellout goes for bands of a less humble nature.Bottom line ,lyrics good as always,music O.K.,"Save A Piece For Me",One of the best songs of its kind ever.

Xstraighthatex@aol.com
cyko miko hasnt steered me wrong yet and i dont think he will with this. Besides if u herd the first Suicidal record its a hardcore juggernaut and its very possible that after years of a different sound he wanted to go back to his roots for a visit. Its very similar to Daddy X of the Kottonmouth Kings a (rap group from Cali.) their founding member started in a punk outfit called the Humble Gods. after about eight years with the group he took a break and made a new album with the Gods cuz its in his blood just like Mike. I think its noble and refreshing that these artists can branch out and experiment and to be met with success is even more rewarding but its definately honorable and true to always peek back to what made u and give the oldschool fans a treat. Plus remember your past it got u where u are and with out it u have no history or credibility.

So9Mr@aol.com
Ora le , fuck still we are. california- I have no chance to be there again. My bros are Lee ving and Duce. Hoover _Olympic, Me LLamo Hancholo . ST forever .. When I get the fedia I will be there.

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Schizophrenic Born Again Problem Child - Suicidal 2001
Rating = 6

It would be fantastic if this were actually a legitimate second Cyco Miko album as it claims to be, but instead it's a loosely disguised sampler disc of all his different bands, most of which feature the same members and sound exactly the same! This wasn't always the case - No Mercy was once a thrash band led by Ric Clayton and Mike Clark, Suicidal Tendencies a metal band featuring the excellent lead guitarist Rocky George, Infectious Grooves a funky side project with bass god Robert Trujillo, and Cyco Miko a punky aside with Adam (Bomb) Siegel. But by the turn of the century, the entire Mike Muir universe had shriveled up into this:

Suicidal Tendencies - Mike Muir, Mike Clark, Dean Pleasants, Josh Paul, Brooks Wackerman
No Mercy Fool! - Mike Muir, Mike Clark, Dean Pleasants, Dave Nassie, Brooks Wackerman
Infectious Grooves - Mike Muir, Dean Pleasants, Robert Trujillo, Adam Siegel, Brooks Wackerman
Cyco Miko - Mike Muir, Adam Siegel, Dav - oh who fucking cares, they only play on three of these songs anyway

In short, there's absolutely no reason for No Mercy Fool! to exist, but whatever. So here's what you'll find on the so-called second Cyco Miko CD:

- "Hippie Killer" - pulled directly from Suicidal Tendencies' Freedumb
- "Citizen of the Nation" and "Just A Lil' Bit" - pulled directly from Infectious Grooves' Mas Borracho!
- "Straight From The Heart" - pulled directly from Suicidal Tendencies' Free Your Soul And Save My Mind
- "Animal" and "Pop Songs" - alternate mixes of songs on Suicidal Tendencies' Free Your Soul And Save My Mind
- "I'm Your Nightmare" and "Waking The Dead" - old No Mercy songs re-recorded by (sigh) No Mercy Fool!
- "It's A Cyco Thang" - a new No Mercy Fool! composition that, shockingly, sounds 0% like No Mercy and 99% like Infectious Grooves
- "How To Kill A Rat" - credited to 'Suicidal Grooves' (!?)
- "Born Again Problem Child," "Coming Back" and "If You Really Want Me" - presumably actual new Cyco Miko recordings

So if you think it's worth 30 dollars to hear five new songs, feel free to buy that copy on Amazon.

Mike Muir began his career as Mr. Hardcore, then became Mr. Thrash, and finally wound up as Mr. Funk Metal. However, he never lost his taste for his earlier musical loves, so young people getting 'turned on' to his latter-day work at this point are like to be awfully confused by its constant merging of these three styles - usually in the same song! "I'm Your Nightmare," for example, is no longer a straightforward thrash song; it now features a(n arguably out-of-place) wicka-wicka wah guitar break. Likewise, "It's A Cyco Thang" alternates between a vomitously dopey funk-metal verse and hooky punk rock chorus, "How To Kill A Rat" suddenly switches from super-catchy hardcore to playful slap-funk halfway through, and both "Born Again Problem Child" and "If You Really Want Me" are simple midtempo pop-punk songs played with a thick thrash metal guitar tone. These stylistic mergings can create some awkward moments for the listener, particularly when you're headbanging like a maniac and suddenly some faggoty-ass Red Hot Chili Pepper beat pops up and you sit there looking like an asshole waiting for the fast part to come back. FUCK YOU, THE PARTS THAT AREN'T FAST

Whatever the point (or pointlessness) of Mike Muir dividing his time between four bands of near-identical membership, it certainly didn't pay off in the long run, as he has released nothing at all in the 7 years since this thing came out. I know he had back problems that needed to be addressed, but I have to assume that financial difficulties played a role in his sudden silence as well.

I feel similarly about ex-Beatle John Lennon. I know he had back problems that needed to be addressed, but the main problem is that Yoko Ono stole all his money and locked him in a box under the earth. A box! Can you believe that? After he wrote "Oh Yoko" and "Dear Yoko" for her, and let her ruin like six of his albums with her terrible songs? Come on you one-legged whore, stop sitting on Clapton's face and set 'the funny Beatle' free to give us more great hits like "Two Virgins Side Two."

Incidentally, it would be great if there were some place online where you could read reviews of Suicidal Tendencies' discography, but unfortunately the Internet (still in its infancy) does not yet provide such a service.

Reader Comments

OSLANE@student.gvsu.edu
I think Mike Muir has had his day, at one time he injected way more personality than his contemporaries into these sub genres, truly elevating all of them beyond their typical cliches

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