Suicide Commando

Suicide Commando

Suicide Commando is an industrial electronic project from Leopoldsburg, Belgium, led by Johan van Roy. The project begins in 1986, when van Roy starts experimenting with electronic music, and it appears under the Suicide Commando name three years later with a first tape release and a contribution to the vinyl compilation Electronic.

Early releases and compilation work

After the first tape, van Roy continues to self-release cassettes and appears on the compilations Rotation II and Induktion, Varianz und Deren Folgen, both issued on Kugelblitz Records. The first CD, Critical Stage, follows in 1994 on the German label Off-Beat. In 1995, Stored Images is released and includes “See You in Hell”, which becomes one of the project’s best-known tracks.

1990s development

In 1996, the project marks its ten-year anniversary with Contamination, also issued in a limited boxed edition containing a bonus 3" CD with previously unreleased material. The album is later released in North America by Electronic Death Trip Records. In 1998, Construct-Destruct appears alongside the companion release Reconstruction, which includes new club tracks such as “Desire” and “Better Off Dead”. “Desire” is also distributed in North America by Possessive Blindfold Records with bonus tracks.

Dependent Records and chart success

Van Roy is one of the founders of Dependent Records in 1999. Suicide Commando then releases the singles and EP Hellraiser, Comatose Delusion, and Love Breeds Suicide on the label, followed by Mindstrip in 2000. That album reaches number one on the Deutsche Alternative Charts and is also licensed for release in North America by Metropolis Records.

Compilations, singles and later albums

In 2002, Dependent Records issues DCD Anthology, a compilation of major Suicide Commando recordings including “Hellraiser”, “See You in Hell” and “Love Breeds Suicide”, as well as remixes and rare versions. Before Axis of Evil, the special double single Face of Death is released and sells out in two days. Axis of Evil is voted album of the year for 2003 by the Deutsche Alternative Charts.

In 2004, Suicide Commando releases the limited double single Cause of Death: Suicide + One Nation under God. Two years later, Bind, Torture, Kill arrives, with a limited edition that includes a bonus disc, poster and sticker. The single “Godsend + Menschenfresser” is issued on Johan van Roy’s Noise Terror Productions, a new division of Dependent Records. The album reaches the top of several alternative charts and is named album of the month by Orkus.

Box sets, live release and related work

In 2007, the project marks its 20th anniversary with X20, a box set containing three CDs — a remix disc, a best-of disc and the Fuck You Bitch EP — as well as the first Suicide Commando live DVD. The remix disc and best-of selection are later issued separately by Metropolis Records. Later in 2007, the track “Hate me” appears on the Noise Terror Volume 2 sampler on NTP/Dependent.

Other projects

Van Roy also has side projects called Lescure 13 and Kombat Unit. Suicide Commando is an electronic act associated with aggrotech, electro-industrial and dark electro, and the group remains active.