Suicide Solution

Although Singapore is seldom viewed as a hub for rock music, Suicide Solution demonstrates that uncompromising old-school heavy metal can flourish in the city-state. Taking their name from a notorious Ozzy Osbourne track, the band delivers hard-edged, straightforward metal that captures the drive of thrash while favoring greater melodic emphasis, blues-inflected touches, and guitar lines that growl alongside their bite. Singer and guitarist Joe Suicide, born Joe Ferdinands, established the group and remains its only continuous member across its timeline. Growing up in a musical household where his father and uncles performed in the enduring outfit Gypsy, Joe self-produced the band’s initial demo in 1995, handling nearly every vocal and instrumental part. The Dark Adventures, Suicide Solution’s debut album, appeared in 1998; Joe assembled a road-ready lineup that began performing regularly around Singapore even as he continued working with Gypsy and his side project Hello Pussy. After a 2005 hiatus during which Joe collaborated with Bad Obsession and Finders Keepers, the band issued its second album, Halloween Holocaust, in 2006, followed by a refreshed configuration that resumed live appearances in 2008. The 2009 edition—featuring Joe on guitar and vocals alongside guitarist Evigan X, bassist Rudolf Stryker, and drummer Faust—released the third album Shake Well Before Abuse on the group’s own Media Corpse imprint.