Trouble (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Trouble | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, USA |
| Genre(s) | Doom metal Stoner metal |
| Years active | 1979–1996, 2002–present |
| Label(s) | Metal Blade (1983–1989) Def American (1989–1994) Century Media (1994–present) |
| Members | |
| Kory Clarke Bruce Franklin Rick Wartell Chuck Robinson Jeff Olson |
|
| Former members | |
| Eric Wagner Sean McAllister Dennis Lesh Ron Holzner Barry Stern Ted Kirkpatrick Ian Brown |
|
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted for their influence on the just-emerging subgenre. The band is also known for the spiritual nature of their lyrics; their first record label, Metal Blade Records, marketed the band as "White Metal" (in contrast to the rising black metal movement).
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Trouble was formed in 1979 by vocalist Eric Wagner, guitarists Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell, bassist Ian Brown (replaced by Sean McAllister in 1983), and drummer Jeff Olson. Drawing from Black Sabbath for inspiration (with occasional nods to the psychedelic sounds of the late 1960s), the band used gloomy down-tuned riffs and spiritual, often openly religious lyrics, which quickly earned them the dubious "white metal" tag.[1]
The band toured throughout the Midwest during the early 1980s before signing with Metal Blade Records and releasing their eponymous debut (later referred to as Psalm 9) in 1984. The Skull followed in 1985 and reflected singer Wagner's struggles with substance abuse as well as the growing turmoil within the group. This led to the replacement of bassist McAllister with Ron Holzner. Drummer Jeff Olson also departed. Urban legend states that Jeff had decided to become a preacher[1][2], however, the truth is that Jeff left to study at the Berklee School of Music in Boston[3]. Dennis Lesh was drafted as his replacement for 1987's Run to the Light. In comparison to earlier recordings, the critiques thought Run to the Light was "disappointing"[1]. Ted Kirkpatrick played drums during Trouble's Run to the Light tour before he went to form his own band, Tourniquet in 1989.
A three year hiatus followed. Just when it seemed that Trouble's fortunes had run out, the band was snapped up by Rick Rubin's Def American Records for whom they recorded another self-titled album (Trouble) in 1990 with Rubin producing. More experimental than previous efforts, the album (featuring new drummer Barry Stern, formerly of Zoetrope) expanded upon the group's tentative psychedelic notions while not abandoning power chords.
The group embarked on a year-long tour and returned to the studio. In 1992 Manic Frustration was released, delving into Beatlesque psychedelia and featuring some of Trouble's most aggressive, energetic performances ever. But when the album still failed to connect with a wider audience (due perhaps to the grunge revolution that made metal a bad word in 1992), it seemed that Trouble had apparently missed their last window of opportunity.
Ultimately dropped by their record company (that by now was experiencing financial problems of their own), the band issued 1995's Plastic Green Head through the Music for Nations label. But despite the return of founding drummer Olson, the album's impact was noticeably dulled by a badly concealed weariness. Vocalist Eric Wagner would quit the band soon after (going on to form Lid).
Though Trouble had been on hiatus ever since, rumors of an eventual re-formation persisted. On January 26th of 2002 the band took the stage in Chicago once again. Eric, Bruce, Rick, Ron and original drummer Jeff Olson took to the stage to perform a short set. Since then, the band has been out and about in the Chicago area playing local one-off gigs and headlining various metal festivals while working on their upcoming album. In 2005 they played in Stockholm, Sweden where they recorded the live DVD Trouble - Live in Stockholm.
In February 2004, Dave Grohl of Nirvana and the Foo Fighters put together a tribute to his metal roots by assembling a who's who of metal with his Probot project. The disc featured various vocalists from Dave's favourite metal bands singing on tunes that he recoded the music for. Eric Wagner sang on the track "My Tortured Soul". Dave Grohl wrote in the liner notes for Probot that buying Psalm 9 was like buying Sgt. Peppers. Last year bass player Ron left the band and was replaced by Chuck Robinson. In 2006, former drummer Barry Stern died.
Their new album, Simple Mind Condition, was released on April 3, 2007 by Escapi Music. An unplugged album will be released at a later date. They toured Europe and USA in support of that album[4].
On May 2, 2008, it was announced that Eric Wagner has left the band by mutual agreement and has been replaced by Kory Clarke of Warrior Soul.[5]
[edit] Music and image
Trouble's music is traditional doom metal although their later works showcase a more stoner metal oriented style. Trouble was Influenced by the early 1970s heavy rock bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Budgie, and Black Sabbath,[2] Trouble typically incorporated elements of psychedelic rock to their style. Their music was some of the slowest metal being written at a time when NWOBHM and then thrash metal bands were playing faster and faster[1]; Trouble songs generally move about as fast as a slower Black Sabbath song, like "Iron Man," "Lord of this World" and "Into the Void." While most slow songs by Iron Maiden or Saxon tend to border on ballads, all of tracks on The Skull are as heavy as they are slow, with the distinctive fuzzy distortion and melodic, integral (rather than superfluous or ostentatious) guitar solos. The band could best be described as combining the riffs and tempos of Black Sabbath with the twin guitar attack of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest.
Eric Wagner's lyrics deal with different themes but the early Trouble albums are known for their biblical references since such themes were relatively uncommon in the 1980s mainstream metal music. Some songs contain Bible quotes[1] and they are typically expressed in an oppressive way, such as on "Psalm 9" from the 1984 album, hence the metal historian Ian Christe describing Trouble's music as "majestic doom preaching"[6]. Some songs deal with social issues such as "Bastards Will Pay" on the debut album, criticising politicians as hypocritical ("You tell us not to steal/ You tell us not to kill/ Then you tell us to fight for your country/ That's tell us to die"). Sometimes Wagner's lyrics include a tinge of the hippie movement's melancholy and ideologies, for example the term "peace and love" in the aforementioned song. Trouble's lyrics from Manic Frustration to forth have dealt with psychedelia, drugs, and hallucinations.[2] Examples of these themes include the songs "Hello Strawberry Skies" and "Mr. White".
Separating them from other heavy metal acts in 1980s, Trouble's members dressed in ripped jeans, tight t-shirts, and wore round sunglasses and had fringes, outfits characteristical for the hippie movement.[7] The band's live performances aren't typically very visual; Their concerts seldom contain theatrical effects such as flash bulbs or pyrotechnics, and there's minimal movement on stage.[8]
[edit] Reception
Problems with both Metal Blade and Def American caused that Trouble never achieved any commercial success.[1] Their music videos were aired on Music Television in both US and Europe, but only Manic Frustration sold close to 100, 000 copies,[9] being the band's best selling record.[9] However, Eduardo Rivadavia of All Music Guide wrote that "their preservation efforts nevertheless rescued metal's original blueprint from disuse, and carved it in granite for subsequent exploration by each new generation of doom bands that followed."[1] It was said that Trouble took off where Black Sabbath had left after their split with the vocalist Ozzy Osbourne.[10] Psalm 9 and The Skull are cited as the cornerstones of doom metal.[11] Trouble started influencing other bands of the uprising metal movement of the mid 1980s. For example, there is a famous story of James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett from Metallica entering Trouble's stage after a concert to figure out how their amplifiers were set to produce that unique sound. [10]
Trouble's first two albums were critically acclaimed and are respected in the metal scene.[12] The following album Run to the Light, however, was said to be "disappointing".[1] Things changed again during the Def American era, when Rick Rubin helped the band to develop their style. The self-titled album gained "magnificent reviews in all the major heavy metal rags"[1] and the psychedelic Manic Frustration was "critically lauded, cult-raved heavy metal masterpiece"[1] The 1995's Plastic Green Head got good reviews, and "the album's songs also exuded a palpable sense of wary acceptance."[1] However, Trouble was never thought to be a completely unique group; some critiques mainly consider the band a "cheap copy of Black Sabbath".[13] Nevertheless, Trouble's influence on the metal movement was unquestioned.[12]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio releases
| Title | Year of Release | Label |
| Psalm 9 (formerly 'Trouble') | 1984 | Metal Blade |
| The Skull | 1985 | Metal Blade |
| Run to the Light | 1987 | Metal Blade |
| Trouble | 1990 | Def American |
| Manic Frustration | 1992 | Def American |
| Plastic Green Head | 1995 | Century Media |
| Simple Mind Condition | 2007 | Escapi Music |
| Unplugged | 2008 | Trouble, Inc. |
[edit] Compilation and live releases
- Trouble Live (1983, a live cassette sold by the band before being signed to Metal Blade Records, still available on CDR through the band's website)
[edit] DVDs
- Live in Stockholm (2006)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rivadavia, Eduardo. Trouble. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ a b c Siva, Shan. Supershine. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Retro Grave Interview
- ^ Trouble.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Warrior Soul's Kory Clarke is the new Trouble singer. Blabbermouth. Roadrunner Records (2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ^ Christe, Ian (2003). Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal. HarperCollins. Chapter 20. ISBN 0-380-81127-8
- ^ Edling, Leif. Trouble Interview on Live in Stockholm DVD. 2006.
- ^ Majalahti, Michael. Trouble (Finnish). Imperiumi. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ a b Lahtonen, Luxi (2002). Trouble. Metal-Rules. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ a b Schilmm, Patrick (2002). Trouble. Trouble.de. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Christe 2002, chapter 20
- ^ a b Bergman, Keith (2007). Trouble - Psalm 9. Blabbermouth. Roadrunner Records. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
- ^ Gao (18.05.2006). Trouble - Psalm 9 (Finnish). Noise.fi. Retrieved on 2007-11-29.
[edit] External links
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