Mike Muir used vastly different vocal techniques and range compared to their debut album (sometimes sounding similar to Lemmy from Motörhead).

Original drummer Amery Smith was replaced by R.J. Herrera, who used the particularly metal drum feature of double kick.

AllMusic's Eduardo Rivadavia gave it three stars out of five and called it "a transitional album in the transformation of the band's sound from hardcore punk to thrash metal".

[citation needed] The success of Join the Army garnered attention from major labels, including Epic Records, with whom Suicidal Tendencies would eventually sign in 1988.

(Possessed to Skate '97)" (Prime Cuts); "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Right" (Year of the Cycos); "Suicidal Maniac", "Possessed to Skate", "The Prisoner", "I Feel Your Pain... And I Survive", "Join the ST Army", "No Name, No Words", and "Born to Be Cyco" (No Mercy Fool!/The Suicidal Family).