In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work

In 1989, Flotsam and Jetsam were signed to MCA Records and began work on their third album When the Storm Comes Down , which was released in May 1990. The band expected to gain recognition with this album, but it suffered from a variety of mixed reviews. A video made for “Suffer the Masses” did however receive heavy rotation on MTV ‘s Headbangers Ball . Musically and lyrically, When the Storm Comes Down marked the beginning of at least two changes for Flotsam and Jetsam: it mirrored much of the occult and dark themes evidenced in the lyrical content of their previous two albums, instead focusing on politics and society in general, and saw the band expanding their thrash roots and using elements of the progressive and technical style of their later albums. The band toured for about a year and a half in support of When the Storm Comes Down ; they co-headlined a U.S. tour with Prong , and subsequently toured or played selected shows with bands such as Testament , Savatage , Exodus , Vio-Lence , Sacred Reich , Wrathchild America and then-unknown Pantera .