Warrior Soul (Kory Clarke) Play Ace of Clubs on May 31st

Who would have thought Kory Clarke would resurrect Warrior Soul? Kory put a new lineup together last year and the band has been getting great reviews for their shows in Europe. Finally, Kory is bringing the band to the US for their first NYC show since the one-off 'reunion' show at The Continental in 2004.

The Stoned are also on the bill and Kory is both the band's drummer and producer. With Kory having recently replaced Eric Wagner in Trouble, it is amazing that this guy can find the time to be in three bands.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door.

Links:
Warrior Soul's Website
Warrior Soul's MySpace Profile

Kory Clarke Replaces Eric Wagner in Trouble

I have missed a few key shows over the years as I always assume the band will be back through the area within the next 6-12 months. I missed Joe Strummer at St. Anne's and now I am kicking myself for missing Trouble's reunion show at BB King's last year. Trouble seemed back in action so I always figured that they would come back through the area once "Simple Mind Condition" was released in the US.

A year later..."Simple Mind Condition" has yet to come out (allegedly it will come out this month but...we have all heard this before) and singer Eric Wagner just left the band. The new singer for Trouble is Kory Clarke (from Warrior Soul and Dirty Rig). I love Kory Clarke but I am going to have to see him fronting Trouble before I decide what I think of this change. Kory has a great voice but I am just having trouble imagining him singing anything from Trouble's first two CDs. At the same time, I can easily image Kory singing the material from Trouble's Def America period.

The new lineup of Trouble is doing a live webcast on July 11, 2008. You can buy a 'ticket' (for $4.99) at www.deeprockdrive.com.

Links:
Trouble's Website

Trouble - The Skull CD/DVD Review

Trouble's second release The Skull was released about a year after Psalm 9 and continues with the same dark and oppressive Christian themes as the first release. There are two notable differences though -- the production is better which highlights that the songs are darker. The press release that came with the Escapi reissue starts with the line "The Skull - Suicide and death and drugs".

About half the songs on this release were written and part of Trouble's live set prior to any of their studio recordings. Some of the "newer" tracks like Pray for the Dead and The Skull show the band's songwriting maturing but the lyrics reflect that Eric and the band are dealing with some pretty heavy issues.

Most of those songs were already written when we did the first record," explains Rick, with respect to The Skull's tortured lessons. "But a lot of the lyrics weren't finished at that point: it was basically Eric that needed to get to work on that stuff. And just from being with Eric and talking to him over the years, from what I understand, that was the most depressing time in his life, when he wrote the lyrics to that album. And it kind of shows. When you listen closely to what's going on in there, he sings a lot about suicide and death and drugs. There were just a lot of bad things he was going through."

Escapi Music has included a bonus DVD of the band performing live in Aurora, IL in 1985 with the reissue of The Skull. (I would suspect that the real date of the show is 1984 as Eric mentions that The Skull will be released in January. In looking online, I found one site that lists the date and club as Malos in Aurora, IL – Nov. 10, 1984.) I really enjoyed this DVD but don't think it is for everyone. It is filmed with a single camera from the back of the crowd and does not have sound from the board. Taking it for what it is (essentially a 20+ year old bootleg), it is pretty good and really shows what the band's live show was like when they first hit the circuit. The video runs close to 2 hours and highlights songs from both LPs. It is interesting to note that the band dropped the Accept and Angel Witch covers that seemed to always be in their set and have added covers of The Yardbirds' Heart Full of Soul and Sabbath's Children of the Grave to the set. Also, Run To The Light is included in the set almost three years prior to it being released on Trouble's 1987 LP/CD of the same title.

It is great that Trouble is finally getting the recognition that they have long deserved. Look for Trouble's new release and tour in early 2007. The band's website also states that the long awaited Trouble unplugged CD will be released in the summer next year.

Trouble - Psalm 9 CD/DVD Review

Escapi Music has just reissued the first two CDs by Chicago doom-metalers Trouble. The first CD, Psalm 9, along with releases by St. Vitus, Pentagram and Witchfinder General helped define the doom metal sounds (which has been copied by many bands that followed).

Psalm 9 was released in 1984 and caused quite a stir in the underground scene. The LP was on white vinyl, limited to 2000 and dearly beloved by those who happened to pick one up. Psalm 9 had heavy religious/christian-themed lyrics so the band was marketed by Metal Blade as a "white metal" band. This was a tag the band strongly resisted. There was also quite a controversy at the time over whether a "Christian" band would include the word "f*ck" in one of their songs (The Bastards Will Pay). In a recent interview, Eric Wagner reflects back on this release and its Christian labeling.

"I was brought up Catholic...but you have to remember , back in the early '80s, all the metal was kind of Satanic, and I didn't get into that vibe. So, as far as writing lyrics, I wasn't trying to save anybody, but just explore my life."

Hands-down, this is a great CD! Trouble is often referenced as being Black Sabbath accolytes but their music goes beyond the basic Sabbath sound. While Trouble's music utilizes similar plodding tempos and heavy bass, the music also differes in many ways. Trouble utilizes two lead guitarists (similar to what the NWOBHM bands did at the time) and frequently change both tempos and speeds. There are also elements of both speed and trash metal in a number of songs.

There isn't a bad song on this disc but particular standouts are Assasin, Victim of the Insane, and Bastards Will Pay. There are many reasons to pick up a copy of this CD (it is an excellent blueprint for bands starting out, the CD has been out of print for years, Trouble has reunited and will be touring again in 2007) but I think the strongest reason is the inclusion of a bonus DVD of the band performing live on cable access television. The DVD lists this performance as 1982 but I believe it to be closer to 1984 as the band mentions that their first LP is already out and that they have started writing songs for their second. It is amazing to be able to see the band as they were performing live over 20 years ago. It is also kind of fun to watch a very young Eric Wagner play air guitar along side of Bruce Franklin. The DVD is 20 minutes and contains three live songs along with an interview. Songs performed are Assassin, Psalm 9 and Victim Of The Insane.

Trouble's first release since 1995, Simple Mind Condition, is scheduled to be released by Escapi Music on February 20th, 2007.