Trouble - Run to the Light. 1987 USA-Illinois

Trouble's 3rd album is very similar to the two efforts prior. There's more guest keyboards, and the pace is faster than your prototypical doom metal band, but essentially this is classic Trouble. Bone crushing riffs, and impassioned Christian vocals. Though concerning the latter, you have to study the lyrics to know that, it's not preachy in the slightest. This is where I get off the Trouble train. I've owned all their other works after this, but they're not to my taste, as they altered their sound.

Ownership: LP: 1987 Metal Blade. Single sleeve with lyric and merchandise inserts. Online acquisition from late last year. Similar story to the first album, in that I had my hand on this title to buy a few times, only to leave it back. I owned The Skull real time, but it didn't wow me enough to pursue the others further. I regretted that decision later, and now I'm paying for it. I found the first one at a Denver record store, but it wasn't cheap (but still a good deal). This one cost the exact same, but it was online, and what the heck, might as well snag it (perfect mint too). Won't likely ever find it in the wilds cheap. If I do, great, we can resell it....

new entry

Trouble. 1984 USA-Illinois

I had my hands on this album a couple of times in the 80s while still in college, but just couldn't pull the trigger. I had recently purchased The Skull, and as mentioned in that post, I wasn't overwhelmed at the time. It's an album that has grown in stature with me some threefold. Obviously new copies of the debut were still around at normal prices. In retrospect, it probably was the right move, only in that the debut is not that dissimilar to The Skull. Perhaps a bit more Black Sabbathy and less mid paced 80s metal crunch, but essentially it's in the same ballpark. And because of that, I also think this album is great. They were pioneers of thoughtful slow metal, when just about everyone else was going a mile a minute - and not necessarily thinking it through either. Trouble has transcended time very well.

Ownership: LP: 1984 Metal Blade. Single sleeve. Recent acquisition from a local Denver record store. It was on the wall where the expensive and rare stuff is. And it wasn't cheap for sure, but still a bargain compared to what it's selling for online. Mint too and still in shrink. Even if I bought one new in 1985 or 86, it's likely it would not have remained in this good of shape!

new entry

Trouble - The Skull. 1985 USA-Illinois

I bought this LP when it first came out, though I have to admit it didn't overwhelm me much. In 1985 I would have been looking for something heavier, and most certainly faster. The genre of Doom Metal was still in its infancy, even if the granddaddy of all metal bands themselves were technically the founders (Black Sabbath of course...). With prog and Krautrock calling my attention more and more in college, metal bands struggled to gain favor. This was the only Trouble album I bought back in the day. It more or less sat unwanted in the collection for some 25 years, until one day I plopped it on the turntable, and it finally opened up to me. There were a few metal LPs like that, ones I was fortunate to keep, mainly out of neglect. Hearing it on CD for the first time this week hasn't changed my perspective at all. There are some good riffs here, a few changes per track, and I really like Eric Wagner's unique preachy delivery. Much is said about the lyrical content - even back in the 80s they were referred to as "white metal", which was a reaction to the more prominent term "black metal". Religion is of course what we're talking about here, not skin tone. But it's an interesting juxtaposition, primarily because it comes from a rooted Catholic perspective rather than the expected hollow born-again nauseam. It's different for certain, and makes the music just that much more powerful. A fine album that continues to age well.

Ownership: LP: 1985 Metal Blade. The original LP is a single sleeve with a lyric inner sleeve. Cool artwork. As noted above I bought this new real time while still in college. 

6/11/20 (new entry)