Still Cyco After All These Years
Better late than never.
Seminal hardcore band Suicidal Tendencies, still alive and shredding 27 years into providing soundtracks for skate sessions worldwide, finally gets its due in the way of a tribute sneaker from hardcore punk-preferred shoe brand Vans.
Hailing from Venice, California, Suicidal Tendencies essentially trademarked the high-energy, face-melting, deck smashing sound dubbed “hardcore punk” before turning to thrash metal later in its career, but with early hits such as “Institutionalized” (the first hardcore video to receive substantial airplay on MTV) and “I Saw Your Mommy,” controversial lead vocalist Mike Muir and company earned a loyal following affectionately known as The ST Army and started a skate-punk revolution sound that to this day is often imitated but never duplicated.
Vans, as expected, offered a tribute authentic (pun intended) to the core by featuring a navy blue canvas to match the band’s oft-alleged (and incorrect) affiliation to the Crips gang, as well as the “Cyco Miko” logo printed on the sneaker’s insole as well as crazy band logo embroidery at the heel. A total fuckin’ trip at the brain, we haven’t been so stoked on a tribute shoe since Vans’ Bad Brains tributes in season’s past.
