Review: Suicidal Tendencies at Magnet House

Suicidal Tendencies at Magnet House
w/ Big Noter
Friday, October 31, 2025

Halloween night and Metallica-eve in Perth, and Magnet House was already a pressure cooker of sweat, skater punk nostalgia and actual bodies before the band had even walked on. Whatever the venue cap is, it felt like it was being tested. In fact it was so thick you had to part the crowd like a wave—and that’s before tactical-vested security started wading in to pluck out one overly enthusiastic punter before things really kicked off, underscoring just how wild the night promised to be.

Suicidal Tendencies have been riding high as special guests on Metallica’s M72 World Tour down under (alongside Evanescence), but tonight marked their first Western Australia show in seven years. Metallica may have loomed, but tonight belonged to the ST family.

Frontman Mike Muir doesn’t just front Suicidal Tendencies—he is Suicidal Tendencies. Bandana fixed, broad stance, he moved like a street preacher riling his congregation, joined by longtime compatriot Dean Pleasants (a fixture since the mid-90s). The rest of the crew might be new to the fold, but the energy was pure Venice Beach skate punk meets thrash muscle.

Commanding the left of the stage, new recruit Ben Weinman—of Dillinger Escape Plan—was a ball of frenetic energy on rhythm guitar, slashing out wicked riffs and clearly revelling in the chaos. Tye Trujillo (son of Metallica’s Robert Trujillo and former ST bassist) held down the low end with jaw-dropping bass skills and seemed to have inherited both his dad’s talent and his long hair. On drums, Jay Weinberg (fresh from Slipknot) was a thunderous force—this tour marked the first time Aussie crowds had seen Weinberg pounding the kit for ST, and he did not disappoint, driving the songs with hardcore punk intensity.

The band made a teasingly grand entrance, Muir and the crew amping up the tension with playful gyrations, as if threatening to launch into a song at any moment. Then, with a burst of adrenaline, they slammed into opener You Can’t Bring Me Down. Launched with punching air jabs and a crowd instantly bellowing lyrics like a war cry, Muir patrolled the lip of the stage like a drill sergeant. Join the Army came barrelling in next, and it was like 1987 had landed in our laps, with Muir’s talk-rap bark intact.

I Shot Reagan was announced with a smirk and finger pistols. “I see you like the love songs,” Muir cracked wise. Weinman leant over the edge of the stage, riffing furiously and egging on the front-row diehards. Sheer chaos.

Between songs, Muir dropped one-liners and mini-sermons: thirty-two years since they first hit Perth shores (Scarborough Beach memories invoked), and still going. “Fight that misery. Every day counts.” Not just noise—these moments hit like gospel.

Freedumb emerged with a groove that was positively Chili Peppers-esque, conjuring their ’90s SoCal skater roots with that manic ST twist. Trujillo’s fingers maniacally noodling, Muir cartoon-bouncing in tandem. Cue the first “S-T! S-T! S-T!” chant break of the night—the crowd didn’t need prompting. Another Muirism followed: this isn’t just a singalong; this is a feel-a-long.

Then the mood shifted. The band thrashed into War Inside My Head with a Metallica-worthy riff, and Muir conjured the pit like a seasoned ritualist, splitting the crowd and commanding the Cyco pit into being. A beat. A pause. Then—impact. The floor surged with colliding limbs and zero pretence. You could already tell there’d be some sore bones on the horizon.

The raging Cyco brand of positivity could not be abated, however, as Muir bellowed: “There’ll never be a shortage of people who wanna fuck with you, but you can’t let ’em bring you down!” It was a raw, profane affirmation that drew huge cheers. Classic Mike Muir, dishing life lessons in the middle of a thrash onslaught.

Then came the new blood: Adrenaline Addict, their first new track in seven years, with Aussie artist Nisha STar bounding on to duet. Her voice was a little flat, but the moment’s novelty (and Muir’s stage laps with her) amplified the energy and joyous chaos.

I Saw Your Mommy followed, drawing out the juvenile glee of yelling its grim final lyric in a room full of strangers. By Possessed to Skate, the motivational streak was back. “When you fall, you get your ass back up,” Muir barked. Trujillo launched into another lightning-bright solo, and Muir dedicated the song to anyone who refuses to skate through life. The love for his followers was real.

And just when you thought it had all peaked—Cyco Vision brought the house down. Weinman Spiderman-ed along the side wall all the way to the mixing desk, delivering riffs from above like a hardcore pariah. A final surprise: Rob Trujillo popped up, joining Pleasants at the mic and stirring the “S-T!” chant from the wings. Legacy, squared.

After an hour and a half of non-stop Cyco insanity, there was only one fitting way to end the show. Closer Pledge Your Allegiance was thunderous. A thousand fists punching the air. Call and response from the gut. “SU-I-C-DAL” screamed into the void and echoed back with love. The set might not have included Institutionalized, unlike the Optus set the next day, but no one here was left short-changed.

And that Cyco spirit? Still alive, sweaty, and very loud in Perth.

CAT LANDRO

Photos by Damien Crocker