Album Review: Trouble - Run To The Light [Expanded Edition]
Reviewed by Gareth Pugh
Trouble is one of those bands that fully deserve the term ‘legends’. I mean this is the band, or so the story goes, that a young Metallica after a live gig went on stage to see what amp settings were being used and how they got their super-heavy guitar sound. Trouble came stomping into the 80s with the heaviness of Black Sabbath, and the speed and melody of Judas Priest, throw in a good dollop of Thin Lizzy (those twin guitars), Cream and of course The Beatles and you get the basic blueprint. But it’s the dense, weighty riffs of Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell, combined with their psychedelic influenced guitar leads and acoustic passages, and the distinctive banshee like vocals of Eric Wagner (RIP), where the unique Trouble sound is really defined.
Having already established themselves as pioneers of doom metal (together with St. Vitus) with their self-titled debut (subsequently renamed ‘Psalm 9’, due to album number four also being eponymously named), and follow-up ‘The Skull’; this third album ‘Run to the Light’; originally released back in 1987, cemented them as genre forerunners, and this re-release comes with bonus tracks in the form three demos and a cover of The Beatles ‘Come Together’.
The album starts with a pure 80’s sound, cheesy synths, and an organ, before an ascending twin guitar melody, then the galloping riff cuts in and were off in to ‘The Misery Shows’, an up-tempo number which neatly references past Trouble songs in the lyrics. ‘Thinking of the Past’ has a bit more of a doomy swagger to it, with a slower, groovier riff and feel. The eastern tinged ‘On Borrowed Time’, which ironically borrows the melody from Chopin’s ‘Marche Funèbre (Funeral March)’, is a monstrously heavy slab of prime doom, with Wagner giving his all in the chorus.
![Album Review: Trouble - Run To The Light [Expanded Edition]](https://i0.wp.com/live.staticflickr.com/65535/52974102976_0b95af0bcb_z.jpg?w=678&ssl=1 "Album Review: Trouble - Run To The Light [Expanded Edition]")
Seeing that they are considered as Doom forerunners, which they certainly are, you might be surprised at how fast they get at times, take the title track for instance, it barrels along at a fair old lick, whilst still retaining that sombre timbre, before a very chilled mid-section, and an epic climax. Over on side two, ‘Peace of Mind’ and ‘Born in a Prison’ are a couple of crushing bruisers, with riffs heavy as anvils, while the final two of ‘Tuesdays Child’ and ‘The Beginning’ show a more experimental side to the songwriting, the later especially, throwing in a curveball, almost medieval intro before a crushing doom riff heads off into the horizon, before huge and uplifting finale.
This new reissue adds three demo tracks, ‘The Misery Shows’, ‘Thinking of the Past’ and the title-track, which are somewhat interesting from a nostalgia point of view, but are hardly essential, much more interesting is the cover of The Beatles classic, ‘Come Together’, where they turn it into a real heavy stomper, whilst retaining the essence of the original.
If you’re not familiar with Trouble, but are a fan of 70s influenced heavy metal, with clever, heavy riffs and catchy songwriting, and a band that have inspired many other acts, then ‘Run to the Light’, a bit of a mini-classic in its day, is certainly not a bad place to start your journey, and these re-issues make it a much easier task of getting hold of physical copies, definitely recommended.
