Doom Metal
FRW Records2013
1. When The Sky Comes Down
2. Paranoid Conspiracy
3. The Broken Has Spoken
4. Sink Or Swim
5. One Life
6. Have I Told You
7. Hunters Of Doom
8. Glass Of Lies
9. Butterflies
10. Sucker
11. The Greying Chill Of Autumn
12. Bleeding Alone (Instrumental/Interlude)
13. Your Reflection
Going into this new Trouble album I had little in the way of expectations. Hopes maybe, but the last time this band managed to scrape together an album in Simple Mind Condition I was left just utterly bored. After that miserable, half assed album the band had a lot to prove to me here. Certainly, I used to love Trouble, but the last release left me wondering if the band was capable of coming back from the dead. Not to mention I was unsure what to make of the loss of vocalist Eric Wagner. His performance on Simple Mind Condition may not have been very good, but he was also a key part of what made their other albums as good as they were.
Well, enter Kyle Thomas on vocals and from the first track he seems like an immediate improvement by simply wanting to be there. Eric Wagner just didn't seem like he showed up for Simple Mind Condition and that is not the case here. Also nice is the fact that Kyle doesn't just try to be an Eric Wagner clone and has his own spin on the Trouble sound. Overall, he comes off a bit heavier and gruffer, with less of that Zeppelin-esque screaming. Don't expect him to sound like you may have known him on Exhorder either though as he does balance heaviness and melody quite nicely. In a way this kind of reminds me of Phil Anselmo going from his Pantera style to a Down one. The vocals may have changed a bit from Wagner, but the change is not a bad one at all and I think the band benefits from a refreshing of their sound.
In terms of the songs, The Distortion Field starts off pretty ripping as things open up with a fair amount of speed and heaviness on When The Sky Comes Down. Kind of a nice kick in ass from the beginning with some good intensity, but also some slow down moments and a nice doomy sound to the riffs to remind you you're listening to Trouble. After this though things really start to get excellent as that the band dials it back a notch into some exceptional blues based grooves. Paranoid Conspiracy is just the sort of song that gets your head moving with stonery doom catchiness and both The Broken Has Spoken and Sink Or Swim follow suit. Really memorable stuff in the best tradition of Trouble and with a nice pace that is groovy, but not too slow. All of these tracks are total keepers and never drag.
After this excellent round of grooves, One Life slows it down a bit with a darker and doomier sound that is a welcome change of pace. The grooves are still there, but the pace is a little slower and there are some nice dark/melodic moments. I appreciate both the variation and the fact the band seems intent on making a complete experience. This is not a one trick album. Not to be forgotten is some of their more melodic, rock sounding stuff and that shows up on the following track, Have I Told You. This is a nice smoother, lighter tune, and once again I find myself appreciating the total package this album is offering. The songwriting here is adventurous and varied and it keeps things from getting stagnant.
Next up, things get heavier once again with Hunters Of Doom which speeds things up, brings a fair amount of aggression back to the mix, and comes together as another highlight. Following this, Glass Of Lies is decent, but a bit shouty and rough and both Butterflies and Sucker are decent groove tracks, but not quite as memorable as some of the material. Maybe a slight weak spot/filler-ish, but by no means bad either. Just not quite as inspired as what came before. I guess not every track can be a highlight. The Greying Chill Of Autumn fixes that though with kind of a dark, twisted feel that is different and interesting. I really dig this one and it certainly has a sound of it's own. Bleeding Alone is a bit of an intro that has a heart beat sort of sound to it so not much to report there. Closing out the album though is Your Reflection which is a good one with another nice, heavy groove.
I don't always like to go track by track on albums as I prefer giving more of an overall impression more than dissection, but this is the sort of album that deserves this treatment. There's a lot of creativity here and the songwriting is adventurous enough to warrant some individual write ups. This is not a by the numbers sort of album that sticks to just one sound and the depth here is what impresses me the most about this album. That and the fact the band has really come back from the brink. The Distortion Field is simply more than I could have hoped for. Trouble really bring their A game here and this is the classic Trouble I remember. I have to give it to the entire band, but once again I have to give a special mention to Kyle Thomas for staying true to the Trouble sound, but at the same time bringing his own touch. Very nicely done. Trouble and Doom/Stoner metal fans need to hear this.
Highlights: Paranoid Conspiracy, The Broken Has Spoken, Sink Or Swim, Hunters Of Doom, The Greying Chill Of Autumn.
Rating - 4.0/5
3. The Broken Has Spoken
4. Sink Or Swim
5. One Life
6. Have I Told You
7. Hunters Of Doom
8. Glass Of Lies
9. Butterflies
10. Sucker
11. The Greying Chill Of Autumn
12. Bleeding Alone (Instrumental/Interlude)
13. Your Reflection
Going into this new Trouble album I had little in the way of expectations. Hopes maybe, but the last time this band managed to scrape together an album in Simple Mind Condition I was left just utterly bored. After that miserable, half assed album the band had a lot to prove to me here. Certainly, I used to love Trouble, but the last release left me wondering if the band was capable of coming back from the dead. Not to mention I was unsure what to make of the loss of vocalist Eric Wagner. His performance on Simple Mind Condition may not have been very good, but he was also a key part of what made their other albums as good as they were.
Well, enter Kyle Thomas on vocals and from the first track he seems like an immediate improvement by simply wanting to be there. Eric Wagner just didn't seem like he showed up for Simple Mind Condition and that is not the case here. Also nice is the fact that Kyle doesn't just try to be an Eric Wagner clone and has his own spin on the Trouble sound. Overall, he comes off a bit heavier and gruffer, with less of that Zeppelin-esque screaming. Don't expect him to sound like you may have known him on Exhorder either though as he does balance heaviness and melody quite nicely. In a way this kind of reminds me of Phil Anselmo going from his Pantera style to a Down one. The vocals may have changed a bit from Wagner, but the change is not a bad one at all and I think the band benefits from a refreshing of their sound.
In terms of the songs, The Distortion Field starts off pretty ripping as things open up with a fair amount of speed and heaviness on When The Sky Comes Down. Kind of a nice kick in ass from the beginning with some good intensity, but also some slow down moments and a nice doomy sound to the riffs to remind you you're listening to Trouble. After this though things really start to get excellent as that the band dials it back a notch into some exceptional blues based grooves. Paranoid Conspiracy is just the sort of song that gets your head moving with stonery doom catchiness and both The Broken Has Spoken and Sink Or Swim follow suit. Really memorable stuff in the best tradition of Trouble and with a nice pace that is groovy, but not too slow. All of these tracks are total keepers and never drag.
After this excellent round of grooves, One Life slows it down a bit with a darker and doomier sound that is a welcome change of pace. The grooves are still there, but the pace is a little slower and there are some nice dark/melodic moments. I appreciate both the variation and the fact the band seems intent on making a complete experience. This is not a one trick album. Not to be forgotten is some of their more melodic, rock sounding stuff and that shows up on the following track, Have I Told You. This is a nice smoother, lighter tune, and once again I find myself appreciating the total package this album is offering. The songwriting here is adventurous and varied and it keeps things from getting stagnant.
Next up, things get heavier once again with Hunters Of Doom which speeds things up, brings a fair amount of aggression back to the mix, and comes together as another highlight. Following this, Glass Of Lies is decent, but a bit shouty and rough and both Butterflies and Sucker are decent groove tracks, but not quite as memorable as some of the material. Maybe a slight weak spot/filler-ish, but by no means bad either. Just not quite as inspired as what came before. I guess not every track can be a highlight. The Greying Chill Of Autumn fixes that though with kind of a dark, twisted feel that is different and interesting. I really dig this one and it certainly has a sound of it's own. Bleeding Alone is a bit of an intro that has a heart beat sort of sound to it so not much to report there. Closing out the album though is Your Reflection which is a good one with another nice, heavy groove.
I don't always like to go track by track on albums as I prefer giving more of an overall impression more than dissection, but this is the sort of album that deserves this treatment. There's a lot of creativity here and the songwriting is adventurous enough to warrant some individual write ups. This is not a by the numbers sort of album that sticks to just one sound and the depth here is what impresses me the most about this album. That and the fact the band has really come back from the brink. The Distortion Field is simply more than I could have hoped for. Trouble really bring their A game here and this is the classic Trouble I remember. I have to give it to the entire band, but once again I have to give a special mention to Kyle Thomas for staying true to the Trouble sound, but at the same time bringing his own touch. Very nicely done. Trouble and Doom/Stoner metal fans need to hear this.
Highlights: Paranoid Conspiracy, The Broken Has Spoken, Sink Or Swim, Hunters Of Doom, The Greying Chill Of Autumn.
Rating - 4.0/5
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