Suicide (Red Star Records) is the influential first studio album by American No Wave band Suicide, released in 1977. It is often cited as one of the first synth pop albums, although it has a harsher, more industrial leaning than many well-known albums of the genre. The album is regarded a classic. One critic writes: "'Che', 'Ghost Rider'—these eerie, sturdy, proto-punk anthems rank among the most visionary, melodic experiments the rock realm has yet produced. Suicide is an American synthpunk musical duo, intermittently active since 1971 and composed of vocalist Alan Vega and Martin Rev on synthesizers and drum machines. Never widely popular amongst the general public, Suicide are highly influential: critic Wilson Neate writes that Suicide "would prove as influential as The Clash. Listening to their self-titled 1977 debut from the vantage point of late 2002, it's all so obvious: the synthpop, techno, and industrial dance with a reputation for their sounds of the '80s and '90s, and now the new New Wave of electroclash, all gesture back to that foundational album." Suicide emerged alongside the early punk scene in New York City with a reputation for their live shows; Vega stated "We started getting booed as soon as we came onstage. Just from the way we looked they started giving us hell already." Vega and Rev both dressed like arty street thugs, and Vega was notorious for brandishing a length of motorcycle drive chain onstage. This sort of audience confrontation was inspired by Vega's witnessing of a Stooges concert in the early '70s, which he later described as "great art". Suicide's albums and performances in the 1970s and early 1980s are regarded as some of the most influential recordings of their time and helped shape the direction of indie rock, industrial music and dance music. Among others, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Joy Division/New Order, Soft Cell, Nick Cave, Radiohead, Spiritualized, Ric Ocasek of The Cars, R.E.M. and The Kills have all listed Suicide as an influence. In September 2009, the group performed their debut LP live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series. It will be played again in London in May 2010 when the band support The Stooges performances of Raw Power.
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