Reviews list for Trouble - Psalm 9 (1984)

Like Saint Vitus, Trouble formed in 1978, but also like their californian counterparts they didn't release their debut album until 1984. In fact Vitus' and Trouble's self-titled debuts were only released a month apart, with "Saint Vitus" issuing forth in February and "Trouble" (later retitiled "Psalm 9") following in March. Preceeding the album, the track "Assassin" was released as a single, backed by a doomy cover of Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses", which was decent enough, although Eric Wagner does struggle with some of the higher registers. "Assassin" was chosen as the lead single, I suspect, because of its strong resemblance to NWOBHM stalwarts Diamond Head in an attempt to garner some traction with the fans of the english heavy metallers.

Trouble are well-known for their Christian-themed lyrics but, in all honesty, I never realised this for the longest time because the lyrical content doesn't affect the darkness of the music at all. Their beliefs don't become that apparent until you actually sit down and go over the lyric sheet. The preachiness and happy-clappy demeanour of so many Christian-themed acts was something that Trouble managed to avoid, concentrating more on the music and less on converting the long-haired masses of young metalheads who comprised their prospective audience. This is a band equally at home pouring vitriol on unfeeling leaders with lyrics like "Come on people, let me hear you say, You fuckin' Bastards, you're gonna pay" as they are beseeching their lord for mercy with "I will praise thee O Lord, I will sing praise in thy name, Don't forget the cry of the humble, Have mercy on me".

Instrumentally, "Trouble" has quite a clean and well-produced sound, much more akin to Black Sabbath than the grimy grittiness of Saint Vitus' more distorted and downtuned debut. The band also employ a wider variation of pacing than is often encountered within the context of orthodox doom metal, but make no bones about it, when they want to, they are more than capable of bringing the doom. Despite their penchant for traditional metal-paced riffs, the downtuned and distorted guitar sound often makes the material feel slower and doomier than maybe it actually is. As well as varying the pacing from track to track they are also apt to change the velocity of the riffs within a given track, such as on the opener, "The Tempter," where, after an ominous tympanic intro, the riff crawls unctiously from the speaker and Eric Wagner intones a warning from satan himself before the band change up a gear and kick into a riff Angel Witch would have been proud of as the forces of good rally themselves. This then alternates with the slow, crawling riff as The Tempter tries his powers of pursuasion on man and quickens again when The Good resist. There is even a rocking, bluesy riff accompanying the guitar solo after the second verse, typifying a diversity that more doom-centric releases may lack. That said though, when they embrace a doomier, darker side, such as on "Victim of the Insane" then they are perfectly capable of conjuring up as sinister and ominous an atmosphere as anyone.

Vocalist Eric Wagner is, of course, a legendary name within doom metal circles, although I am sure his vocal style isn't to everyone's taste. Sure, he does sound like a strangled cat occasionally, but, similarly to Scott Reagers on Saint Vitus debut, his higher-pitched style does act as an effective counter and contrast to the low-tuned guitar and bass assault of the riffs. Unconventionally pleasing and technically restricted vocals, of which Wagner's are a solid example, have long since become the norm within doom metal circles and Wagner, Reagers and company, in the spirit of Ozzy Osbourne, were a big factor in that.

I cannot claim that I hold Trouble's debut up as an absolute top-drawer traditional doom metal release as, in all honesty, it doesn't commit enough to the doom aesthetic for me, despite showing promise with the likes of "Victim of the Insane". There are also a couple of clunkers among the tracklisting, with "Revelation (Life or Death)" and the instrumental "Endtime" in particular just not sounding coherent enough within the context of the rest of the album. That said, there is enough quality elsewhere to provide a really solid listening experience and this is ultimately an album that further bridges the gap between traditional heavy metal and doom metal proper and as such deserves the time and respect of all doom metal fans.

I have this album in my top 20. I love Trouble. 

Trouble are not a Christian Heavy Metal Band, and never claimed to be. They are a very good traditional heavy metal band with just enough doom elements to fit comfortably within that subgenre. That being said, I am a Christian man, and as such the typical Satan, Hell, and so on that is common aesthetic in most metal is something that I find entertaining, but not relatable (It's halloween stuff to me). Trouble introduces Christian spirituality, but they do this in a way that is ponderous not preachy, and THAT is something that I can highly relate to, and it's not heavy handed. Don't get the idea that this is anything like Stryper for example. I just mean to say that it's this aspect of the music that makes Trouble a little bit extra special for me. It's the frosting. 

Let's talk about the cake. Trouble is an excellent heavy metal unit. Everybody in this band can play, and they write very catchy music. You're going to get plenty of quality metal here. The vocals are maybe the weak point, but they aren't weak, its just that the band is so damn good that you would need somebody in the class of Dio, Halford, or Dickenson at the mic to stay on par with what the instrumentalists have to offer. Eric Wagner is damn good, he's just not quite a god.

So there you have it my honest and not at all biased Review of a Trouble album.

Trouble's eponymous debut is a tale of two halves for me.  The first half is me thinking that this is why I got into heavy metal in the first place. With its big riffs and lethal threat levels of groove and doom, there is little to argue with on Psalm 9 when it comes to the bangers such as album opener The Tempter, the charging triumph of The Fall of Lucifer or the epic gloom of Psalm 9.  Both tracks are examples of the band at their finest for me and are tracks that represent the very essence of what doom metal should sound like.  There is a vibrancy and energy underneath that requisite level of murk that shows a band with their artform flowing through their very veins.  The riffs of Wartell and Franklin are huge and yet at the same time they are clearly players unafraid to mix it up and change pace and influence to inject some variety to proceedings.  The vocal talents of the late Mr Wagner are accurately logged throughout history and it is hard to find a comparable vocalist, past or present that has such a unique and equally fitting style for their chosen genre of music.  He is imperious here.  His piercing yet gruff musings punctuate each and every song on here.

Arguably for me, this is also where the second half of my experience of the album comes from.  As much as I admire Wagner's vocals the adoption of them on some tracks (in terms of the lyrical content and their delivery) is far too preachy for my liking.  This is not a criticism that I level from the aspect of their being a large Christian focus on the lyrics here.  Sharing aspects of your faith in your music is not something I have a problem with.  Here though, there is an underlying naivety to the lyrics.  Victim of the Insane is a bleating tirade from a vocal perspective, saved only by the superb lead work and accompanying tempo change that heralds its arrival.  The raging Bastards Will Pay is another example of a song with a message to deliver but not quite having the maturity to tailor it to be less overwhelming.  At times the messaging feels like it is from a gothic metal album as opposed to a straight up doom record.  I acknowledge of course that this was a debut release and so the most likely of a band's discography to contain the rookie mistakes.

The above does not ruin the album for me by a long chalk.  It is an issue that is reflected in my rating most definitely but there is still a lot to enjoy and praise here.  Even the instrumental track that I normally dread on most records is interesting and totally in keeping with the album direction overall.  The drumming of Jeff Olson could be represented better in the mix overall but I would not go as far to say that it is stifled to any degree, just a little too far back in the mix.  As a benchmark doom record for the "Early Days" challenge in The Fallen clan, Trouble's debut album is a superb starter for ten for anyone wanting to dip their toe in these murky yet rippling waters.