by
Juno Daily
on 14.05.2026 at 17:37pm.
Last edited: 14.05.2026 at 17:56pm.
Here comes Trouble – again
Trouble – Trouble (35th Anniversary Edition) (Hammerheart)
Trouble released their highly acclaimed fourth and self-titled album 36 years years ago, a memorable body of work that shaped a generation of doom metal bands. With it, they flipped the script from speedy death metal to slow things right down and make them even heavier as a result. Metal would never be quite the same again.
The story starts in 1978 Chicago, when high schooler Rick Wartell decided to form a band as the sole singer and guitarist, with Mike DiPrima on bass and Mike Slopecki on drums. Later that year, the band played their first show at the Gordon Technical Institute in Chicago. Following the departure of DiPrima and Slopecki, Wartell had to revamp the band’s lineup, bringing in guitarist Bruce Franklin, vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Tim Ian Brown, and drummer Jeff Olson.
Trouble toured the Midwest in the early 1980s, building an underground following along the way. After years of tours and club gigs, they were finally beginning to find their sound and recorded their first live show, Trouble Live in Chicago, in 1983. Drummer Jeff Olson then made the bold move of mailing the cassette to Metal Blade’s CEO, Brian Slagel, with the band landing its first record deal.
Trouble chose a lighter approach in their music, even using Bible-inspired lyrics. As a result, Metal Blade marketed the band as “white metal”, much to the annoyance of vocalist Eric Wagner, who described it as “a bunch of crap” in an interview with music journalist, Popoff Martin. The band released its eponymous debut album, later known as Psalm 9, in 1984. For this album, Trouble drew heavily on bands like Black Sabbath and Cream (they literally covered ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’). The album is also regarded as one of the earliest examples of modern doom metal.
The following year, they released the Skull, which implicitly references the lead singer’s substance abuse and conflicts within the band. Unfortunately, Trouble experienced a dip with the release of their third studio album, Run to the Light, which was met with critical disappointment. What followed was a three-year hiatus, and it was thought the band was done for good.
It was not until legendary producer Rick Rubin picked the band up and changed its fortunes. Before signing the band to his label, Rick Rubin had helped shape the early hip-hop scene, working with legends like LL Cool J, the Beastie Boys, and Run-DMC.
Rubin’s talents extended beyond hip-hop production, as he proved he had an ear for heavy rock through his work with Slayer on Reign in Blood in 1986. Rubin sought to incorporate the album’s ferocity and clarity into Trouble’s sound. You can hear this clarity and heaviness on the album’s first song, ‘At The End Of My Daze’. The song begins with a simple electric guitar melody before pulling the rug out from under the listener with a heavy and punchy riff. Franklin and Wartell work in harmony to create a riff so consistent that it thrums along like a pulse.
Eric Wagner’s talent as a vocalist shines through Wolf, as he seamlessly cuts through a heavy, steady guitar riff and drum groove. The guitar duo work in perfect unison to create both dread and release. There’s a warmth here, too; towards the end, Wagner delivers a cathartic vocal delivery that would strike the soul of any doom metal listener. It had the sound of someone confronting their own ruin and coming out radiant.
Rubin also helps Trouble build on their Sabbathian influence on ‘Psychotic Reaction’, with booming riffs that lay the foundation for stoner rock to come. Franklin and Wartell close the song with an intense descending riff that sounds like it’s distorting space and time.
‘Heaven on My Mind’ pulls back into melodic territory, its lyrics shimmering with worn faith and yearning. You feel both the struggle and the uplift; it’s heavy music that moves you.
Trouble was a crucial turning point for both the band and heavy music. The album brought the band back from the brink of extinction and has been a direct inspiration for heavy metal bands like DOWN, who have cited them as an influence on their music. Trouble’s influence is also visible in modern bands such as Green Lung, Elder, and Spiral Shades.
Green Lung use the psychedelic doom style that Trouble helped popularise in the early 90s, evident in the band’s occult themes and psychedelic guitar riffs. Elder similarly expand on Trouble’s fusion of doom riffs and trippy melodies, employing heavy riffs with expansive, psychedelic passages.
Modern audiences, particularly within the growing doom and stoner rock scenes, continue to rediscover Trouble through streaming platforms, where their influence resonates with a new generation seeking authenticity and atmosphere over immediacy. In many ways, Trouble’s sound anticipated today’s resurgence of slow, psychedelic music, proving that what was once niche has become essential listening for contemporary doom metal fans.
Matin Eniola
Pre-order Trouble on double vinyl here
Pre-order Trouble on double CD here
