Trouble - Self titled

I was a teenage metalhead.

Sounds like the name of a B-grade movie I know! And I denied it for about 15 years afterwards!! But now I'm totally unhip and I don't care!

When I listen now to the metal bands I used to listen to I generally cringe! And the bands that don't make me cringe don't move me at all.

There are a few exceptions, but I can count these on one hand.....hmmm, maybe two hands....but I can guarantee I don't need to remove my shoes for this exercise.....

Two exceptions have previously been featured on this blog: Sea Hags and Saigon Kick - although some will argue the latter aren't metal, while I got into the latter during the grunge era when my metal daze were done.

Speaking of metal daze, I still dig old Manowar - i.e. the first four albums. Death to false metal!! Tthough the loincloths still don't do it for me!

Another metal band I dig is the subject of this post, the mighty Trouble.

Trouble are not your average heavy metal band. They preach a positive message - none of this hot chicks, black magic or rebel without a cause bullshit. They don't rely on power chords, shred guitar solos, or any other typical, odious metal devices. Their sound revolves around the unique guitar work of guitarists Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell, who I often (ineptly) describe as taking Thin Lizzy's melodic dual lead guitar ethos and apply it to rhythm guitar using the low notes on "detuned-to-D" guitars. The result is a deep and resonant sound with psychedelic overtones. But last, and possibly most importantly, they swing like a dog's bollocks! They hark back to a time when heavy metal was still a relative of the blues - think Cream, and Master of Reality era Black Sabbath - both relevant examples, given that Trouble covered the formers Tales of Brave Ulysses on a early single, and frequently covered the latter's Children of the grave live.

Trouble released three albums on Metal Blade. Their first two albums, the self titled debut (now referred to as Psalm 9) and The Skull, are superb, singlehandedly starting the doom metal sub-genre. Their third album, Run to the Light, was a lackluster affair, and it looked like the bands was in danger of being made redundant by the hip and happening new sounds of the hair and thrash metal hordes. But they were rejuvenated by a white knight - Rick Rubin, who signed the band to his new label, Def American. The band then recorded their second self titled LP, and subject of this post, with Rubin at the helm. And as he did on Slayer's meisterwerk Reign in Blood, Rubin raised the bands sound to a new level of clarity without sacrificing any of the depth, power or soul.

Opener At the End of My Daze is a mid-tempo shuffle with a chugging riff and great dual lead guitar break. The Wolf starts with more great dual lead guitar, before metamorphosing into a fast tempo rocker. Psychotic Reaction and A Sinner's Fame revolves around infectious guitar riffs that swings like hell. The Misery Shows (Act II) is the token heavy metal power-ballad, except better than most, with a great psychedelic feel. R.I.P. starts of at funeral pace before metamorphosing into a faster tempo track with some tasteful lead guitar breaks. Heaven on My Mind and E.N.D are mid-tempo chuggers. All is Forgiven starts off at a fast pace, with a change to a slower tempo after two minutes, leading into an excellent extended dual lead guitar break that provides a fitting end to this excellent album.



Trouble - 1990 - Self titled

1. At the End of My Daze
2. The Wolf
3. Psychotic Reaction
4. A Sinner's Fame
5. The Misery Shows (Act II)
6. R.I.P.
7. Black Shapes of Doom
8. Heaven on My Mind
9. E.N.D
10. All is Forgiven

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Saigon Kick - Self titled

WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAINS TRACES OF HEAVY METAL!

One of my pet hates is people dissing heavy metal, writing it off as a credible musical genre, or refusing to listen to anything that slightly resembles it.

I've been intending to rant about this issue since a recent post on the Music Ruined My Life Blog, which stated heaviness is the dullest possible metric of good music. Each to their own. But the thing I like best about (say) early Black Sabbath is the heaviness of it. Would War Pigs work as well as it does if was done as oompah or skiffle? If you are going to avoid something because it has been declared heavy metal then you are missing out on a lot of good music. At the risk of being labeled a heretic, I have always considered grunge to be badly played heavy metal - and I say that as one of the biggest grunge fans on this planet! Actually, some grunge bands (e.g. Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam) are blatantly heavy metal, but it's OK to like them as they are from Seattle.

There is good and bad heavy metal, just as there is good and bad folk, funk, punk and polka music...hmmm, scratch that last reference! At the end of the day, as the legendary Rushbo says, There are only two types of music: Music you like and music you don’t like. But if you consider heaviness the dullest possible metric of good music, I suggest you stop reading at this point and come back next week when I recover my senses.

Saigon Kick emerged in the grunge era. Being a heavy metal band, they didn't stand a chance - which is a shame because their music was well written, performed and produced. I remember reading an article on the band around the release of their debut self titled album, the subject of this here post, where the band earnestly remarked that they spent all their waking hours rehearsing and writing material. This is something you don't hear bands typically say. Isn't it all meant to be easy, isn't it, like turning on a tap - the old "here's a song we wrote in the diner/in the dressing room/on the train/in our sleep (select as appropriate) before the gig" intro, before the band launches into the best god-dammed song you've (n)ever heard?! Myth building, no, but I like that honesty!

This album represents everything heavy metal can be - diverse, intelligence, and varied - everything from hardcore metal to Beatle-esque pop. Fourteen well crafted songs with no drop in quality. But probably too clever (by half) for the great unwashed masses. Though I do have two small qualms: the album is to varied to pick one song and say "this exemplifies the bands sound". And as a result, any time they verge into another band's territory/sound, it sounds a bit overt.

Opener New world starts with a cliched atmospheric heavy metal type intro, evolving into a slow, grinding atmospheric metal song complete with sitar and effect laden vocals. What you say provides a pleasant contrast, opening with vocal melodies before evolving into a pop-metal track with Def Leppard style chorus vocals. What do you do starts with a crunching hardcore metal riff, with the guitars subsiding for the verse (a trick employed throughout the album), returning for the hardcore chanted chorus. Three songs in and three metal subgenres explored!

Colours is Stones approved psychedelic Pop, featuring clean guitars over an atmospheric hum, with strong vocal melodies in verses and chorus. Psychedelic Pop. The guitar crunch returns for Coming home, a slower track with menacing yet melodic vocals, over a rolling tom beat, broken up by a superb gonzoid riff in the middle of the song.

Love of god illustrates both of my qualms above. It's basically an attempt to write a heavy metal version of U2's Pride, but it's too overt. On the other hand, Down by the ocean is a corker. Starting with grinding guitar which subsides in the verses and returns for the choruses, it has a great groove and strong double tracked vocals. But who invited Axl into the studio at the end of the song? My life is Beatle-esque, with clean guitar, vocal melodies, and a kazoo solo for god's sake!

Until this stage the guitars have frequently been heavy but the band haven't pressed the pedal to the metal. This changes with Month of Sundays and Ugly. The former is uncannily like Velvet Revolver (15 years ahead of their time!), right down to the Weiland like vocals.

Come Take Me Now features acoustic guitar, a big rousing chorus (time to get those lighters out! Hmmm, that's so last century, how about get those mobile phones out!) and a suitably tortured guitar solo.

Saigon Kick - 1991 - Self titled

1. New World
2. What You Say
3. What Do You Do
4. Suzy
5. Colors
6. Coming Home
7. Love Of God
8. Down By The Ocean
9. Acid Rain
10. My Life
11. Month Of Sundays
12. Ugly
13. Come Take Me Now
14. I.C.U.

FLAC Pt1, Pt2, Pt3, Pt4
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