I love this record! I first bought this headbanger when I was maybe 12 years old - and, on cassette! (What's that?) This record spoke to all the pissed-off teen anger harbored by myself and many others. And, also being from California, I totally could identify with their sound.
I believe Controlled by Hatred serves as a great crossover record for Suicidal as it mostly features No Mercy tracks (guitarist Mike Clark's band in which Mike Muir also sings). These tracks are HEAVY and chug along at a faster pace, packing a serious groove. Rocky George's solos are insane. The result is faster and better than anything else Suicidal ever did.
Rocky's solos are great. He relies on a mostly linear, modal approach to his soloing, allowing him room to use the trem bar. Such intense vibrato and whammy squeals add a hectic and somewhat improvised feel to his soloing; an instantly recognizable facet to his playing - a calling card, if you will. His Ibanez RG750 was the coolest thing, too! I went to the guitar store and bought a red one. Clark, who wrote the majority of the material, holds it down on rhythm while Muir's vocal style sets ST apart from anyone else.
Every track on this record rules. I guess the CD release came with some totally laughable "heavy emotion" version of 'How will I Laugh Tomorrow, When I can't Even Smile Today,' but I digress. A couple of my favorite tracks are 'Waking the Dead,' (in my opinion, this doesn't quite live up to No Mercy's version) and 'Controlled by Hatred,' which boasts what has to be one of the catchiest opening riffs in history. The lyrics in 'Choosing My Own Way of Life' and the 4-minute guitar solo in 'It's not Easy' are some perennial favorites, as well.
Yeah, this might have been a first out of hundreds of other record purchases, but it remains one of my favorites 'til this day. Years later, I'm still controlled by hatred and, more than ever, feel like absolute shit. So, I suppose it's a good thing I have this record to escape to when the Man's got me down. A true classic.
--Bones
