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Suicide

Musical Group
Forlisteners into experimental rock, minimal synth, no wave/post-punk history, and anyone curious about extreme, influential 1970s new york underground music.
11 Reviews 14 Definitions 26 Charts
Electronic Post-Punk New Wave

The Profile

Suicide were an American music duo formed in New York City, best known for the influential 1977 album “Suicide” and the song “Frankie Teardrop.” The group centered on Alan Vega (vocals) and Martin Rev (keyboards/electronics), using minimal electronic loops and confrontational performance to fuse rock ’n’ roll attitude with avant-garde electronics.

Publicly documented: Suicide were formed in 1971 in New York City by Alan Vega and Martin Rev. Their debut album “Suicide” was released in 1977. Alan Vega (born Boruch Alan Bermowitz) died in 2016; Martin Rev died in 2024.

Across 11 DeBaser reviews, Suicide are framed as a legendary, confrontational New York electronic duo built on loops, drum machines, and Alan Vega’s extreme vocal presence. The 1977 self-titled debut is repeatedly described as a milestone: industrial, minimal, violent, and deeply influential—especially via tracks like “Ghost Rider” and “Frankie Teardrop.” Later records split opinion: “A Way of Life” is treated as solid but bleak, while “Why Be Blue?” is condemned as forgettable and dated. Overall, the consensus is that Suicide’s power lies in stark repetition, urban dread, and the destruction of pop-song convention.

Notable Quotes

❝ In thirty-one minutes, history is written; one of the most violent, sick, and insane albums of all time is given to posterity.
❝ "Frankie Teardrop" is the nightmare in music.
❝ Suicide is dangerous and avant-garde even today: they have always built all their songs on a single sequencer loop on which the voice à la Elvis on crack, like a devastated crooner, reverberated and blasted into a thousand in Vega's chorus and delay, always upfront, straight in your face, painting spectral and apocalyptic landscapes.
❝ "Why Be Blue" is a disaster, and it's sad to say it because I am one of those many die-hard fans who would like to forget it.
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