Formed in London, England in 1992 from the ashes of BIG BROTHER and THE CUT, EMOTIONAL SUICIDE evolved into and became a band that put aside their earlier hard rock style music and put together a more cohesive set of songs that were closely aligned to a theme. It was always the bands intention to deal with darker issues and feelings, rather than producing straightforward commercial hard rock music. The band recorded "Emotional Suicide" in 1993 and decided to release it under their own record label with no success. The band feels they are at their best when playing live, so the album was recorded "live on the floor". Fast forward 29 years later for the album to finally be reissued and remastered with four bonus demo tracks on Golden Core Records.

A nice thumping riff and some pretty kick ass lead guitar anchoring the lead off song "Keep your Demons Down", but the throaty vocals just don't mesh with this song, they seem out of place and errant. A very bad ass riff and fiery soloing give "Dead Man's Tale" a good rocking vibe but again the gnarly vocals by Mark Whitlock distract from the overall dynamics of this song. The title track "Emotional Suicide" has a good rocking tempo with an excellent guitar solo by Bud Rodgers that really salvages this song and again, some erratic vocals. Now we start to cook, "Back for More" is by far the best guitar work on this album with crushing rhythms and vocals that measure up and are dark and deep. Total rock out song. "Sweet Revenge" starts out very canorous with acoustic guitar that gives way to a scorching hot guitar groove with adrenaline and some pretty intense and raw vocals. A nice bass beat opens "IT" before surrendering to the husky vocals and ramping up to some heavy guitar work. The album ends (not including the bonus demo tracks) on a high note with an impressive well-structured song. "Scared Time" starts out somber and melancholy before skyrocketing to a crushing explosion of furious guitar riffs and head banging solos coupled with the cleanest and purest vocal work on the album, a monstrous ending to an inconsistent album.

First thing I had to remember is that EMOTIONAL SUICIDE was recorded in 1993. I'd like to say I wasn't even born then but that would be far from the truth, but considering this album was dormant for almost 30 years and remained relevant in today's musical landscape is impressive. Musically, EMOTIONAL SUICIDE is strong and pretty heavy at times with some nice crushing riffs and solos, but I personally felt the vocals were at times poignant and gruff limiting the potential power of the band. But, and it is a big BUT, I really think this album needs a second, third or fourth listen to make a final assessment, I think this album will grow on you.