Suicide Machines, appropriately enough are a Detroit-based ska-punk outfit that have been creating wonderfully influential music since 1991. Their first two albums, 1996's Destruction by Definition and 1998's Battle Hymns, blended the metallic edge of hard-core with the upbeat liveliness of ska. They also showed that they could do either style by itself very convincingly. The unthinkable happened in 2000 when they came out with the pop-punkish, radio-friendly album The Suicide Machines. The single "Sometimes I Don't Mind" (which was about a dog) was played on alternative radio stations across the country, and I remember seeing the video for that single on (gasp!) MTV. After that, they followed up with 2001's well-promoted Steal this Record as well as a greatest hits collection which helped put them back on the map. On A Match and Some Gasoline they return to their original old sound which made them so great in the first place.

The CD starts off with the hard-core "Burning in the Aftermath" with proves that they're back to their old sound for good. Other hard-core favorites are the political "Invisible Government" and "Beat My Head Against the Wall." They also go back to providing more ska ditties like the happy "Did You Ever Get the Feeling of Dread?" and the upbeat "High Anxiety." They also show that they can still do both sides of the extreme in punk rock. There's the happy punk sound of "Seized Up" which is fun to rock out to, and then there's the harder, more political and in-your-face track "Your Silence," which is probably my favorite on the CD. For those who have enjoyed and missed their old pop-punk sound (which might not be too many), there's the ever-so-happy ditties "One More Time" and "Split the Time." Although the CD's rather short for the number of songs it has, A Match and Some Gasoline is a great "welcome-back" call for the fans who lost interest or for those who have yet to discover the Machines.