Album Spotlight: The Love Is Gone… by Suicide Eyes

 

By Ryan Germ
Suicide Eyes is going to be this generations American Nightmare. There, I said it. If you know me I’ve been saying this since I first heard their demo but now that they released an LP I finally feel like I can say this and state my point clearly. I’ve seen Suicide Eyes more times than

I’ve seen any band in 2025, probably more than I’ve seen my own dad’s band that year and spun this record a solid 10-15 times on its release week and let me tell you it’s for a damn good reason. Don’t believe me? That’s fine because we are about to dive into their debut record, The Love Is Gone.

The first track Misery Loves Company opens with feedback before immediately slamming you with a groovy 2 step part on the toms which you know I’m a sucker for and emotional screams from vocalist Ben Stuckey. It then transitions into a standard fast part for a little while before switching onto the ride for the second half of the fast part before going half time on the crash giving a stompy feeling. The side to side part builds to the breakdown over some great emotional lyrics of “Soft Tears/Sweet Lips/Blood pouring from my wrists/As you turned your back, I ask myself/‘How Did We Come To This?’”. Right when he ends that last line it explodes into a breakdown meant for throwing down to before it goes into the giant 2 step part to end the track.

The next song, Kids Like Us (not to be confused with one of my favorite FLHC bands) was my favorite off the demo, I played that song to death and you bet your ass I moshed for that song each time they played it live. I think there’s another song off the demo which beats it on this record but it’s neck and neck. The song starts off with a count off on the hi hat over the chord progression of the main riff ringing out before building to the verse which is fast. After 20-25 seconds of the verse it builds into the mosh part where everything but the guitar and some soft strokes keeping the time on the ride cuts out over the anthemic shout of “You spoke to me but told yourself/‘Towns like this aint meant for kids like us’”with the “kids like us” being doubled before reaching a grandiose 2 step part and the chorus meant for singing along. It reaches a nice break introducing a higher riff before going right back into that 2 step part over shouts of “the way it was for kids like us” to end the track. Goddamn I see that being a classic PAHC track.

The next song is Never Meant and it goes right into a groovy beat into the toms. I don’t know how to explain it, which probably sucks for a guy who runs a music blog. But it has a more hopeless feeling. It changes with a fast part giving life into the track. The album name is dropped in this track which queues in a huge two step part on the toms (which I’m a sucker for). The vocals are doubled with one being yelled all the way through and the other track having this escalating feeling which rings in another 2 step part on the hats. It then crescendos on the crash before ending the track with a 2 second blast beat.

This next one, Tattle Tale Heart, is probably the best song not on the demo, and as a fuckin’ nerd I do love that play on words. It starts off with some hits on the snare before a fast verse just pummels you. The drums have some nice fluidity (does that apply here?) with them switching through different cymbals and toms to groove on. It goes into a big repetitive part fit for pile ons with the lines “I hate you/I love you/I want you/To want me/I hate you/I love you/I just want you/To want me back”. It goes into gritty 2 step part before it goes half time and super moshy on ya to end the track.

The next song Die Young kicks off with some call and response of “we weren’t all” with the gang vocals capping off with “we weren’t all lucky enough” and “we weren’t all lucky enough to die young” before going into a fast part. Yes I know I’ve said that a lot but it’s punk, whatcha expect? After the fast part it goes into this big build up into the call and response from the beginning of the song which THEN goes into the breakdown. That ends the track after a lengthy breakdown.

Next song is Lonely Together and it goes into a moshy side to side before it goes into a nice dancey groove. Not one that’s moshy or fit for 2 stepping but it’s still dancey. After that it goes into the verse which is delivered great as it follows the drums to a tee. There’s some gang vocals in the background after the verse but the chorusy bit after the gang vocals comes on after that and it has this airiness to it which sounds great and the melody of the vocals follows the drums fucking perfectly. Especially when the drums switch to the ride. The drums go back to the hats and after a few measures that ends the verse and track. I really like that one. Probably one of the least moshy ones on the record but they just throw it into songwriting and it’s amazing.

Next song Empty Envelopes, let’s get it. It starts fast with a great fill by drummer RJ Hill before the vocals and fast part hit. It has this nice d beat esque groove on the ride bell to begin before it stops and becomes a more standard fast part on the hats. At 37 seconds it gets this 2 step groove without being a full mosh part if that makes sense. It continues with that groove and has an amazing line and transitions into this slower moshy part with the absolute bar “I Can’t Forget you/Even if I l wanted to/Despite all the pain/We weren’t a mistake”. Dude, I love that line. It’s poetic, it’s fit for HC despite how poetic it is, and it’s relatable. 3 things that you need if you’re making a breakup song for HC kids. Anyways enough of my tangent on one line. It goes into a 2 step part after that line to end the track.

Next song rips hard it’s called She Was Mine Too. It begins with a fast part before getting into a fast groove after the opening fast part. It goes back into the fast part before dropping out and it’s pretty solid. But then the song goes from alright to fucking amazing in the second half with the poetic pile on part. I can’t describe what makes it so great, so go listen to it. But I’ll just leave the lyrics here: “Sweet sorrow…/Sweet heartbreak…/I would never call you a mistake/If this razor ever crosses my wrist/Just know I was thinking of our very first kiss and…/I regret none the choices/I cherished every second with you/But loving you is hard enough/I don’t think I could bare it to hate you”. Enough said. The delivery is the most emotional on the record too as the cherry on top. Go listen just for that part. It’s everything I said about the line in Empty Envelopes but like times 1000. Great shit. It goes into the 2 step part after that and it’s a great ending to the track.

The next song is probably my favorite on the record. It was on the demo and despite me liking the demo version of Kids Like Us more than this song, this version is my favorite in Suicide Eyes’ discography. It’s none other than Forget Better. It starts off with a super fast part with some blast beats snuck in there. It’s sick. But then the side to side with the kick signaling it over the lyrics of “Forget it/just forget it/I pity your life and the place it’s fucking headed/Forget it/Just fucking forget it/I’ll be right here waiting for the day that you regret it”. Then bang 2 step part and it lands perfectly. It goes into a chorusy bit with that ending and it’s short, simple, to the point, and perfect. Ever since I heard the new version it’s been my favorite song in their discography. Goddamn perfect HC track.

Final song is the longest and it’s Love Like Ours. It has some ambience to it to start off before having a slow build to the fast part which really kickstarts the song. After that it goes into this groovy bit which is good before it cuts out with only the kick and the guitar going. It then goes into this big build up with this almost spoken word part over a snare roll before we are greeted with the last 2 step part. Then it slows down on the hats to get into this moshy part to end the song. This style of HC is up my alley. More please. I never give out scores to records. But this one is probably one of the best ones I’ve reviewed alongside the likes of Kids Like Us (the band this time, not the song), Mother Of Mercy, and ETID. I want more shit from them and I hope they become one of the biggest Philly HC bands of all time.