classic doom anniversary: Trouble - Run to the Light

Trouble: Run to the Light - July 15, 1987 - Metal Blade Records

Eric Wagner vocals - Rick Wartell guitars - Bruce Franklin guitars - Ron Holzner bass - Dennis Lesh drums

Rick Wartell started the band Trouble in Chicago in 1978 when he was in high school. At first, he sang and played guitar with bassist Mike DiPrima and drummer Mike Slopecki. They played their very first show that year at a local school. In 1981, Rick wanted to find new members. He put an ad in a local music paper and put together a great new lineup. This group featured guitarist Bruce Franklin, singer Eric Wagner, bassist Tim Ian Brown, and drummer Jeff Olson. In 1983, Sean McAllister became the new bassist. The band loved the heavy sound of Black Sabbath and psychedelic rock music from the 1960s. They tuned their guitars low to make a very heavy, gloomy sound. While most metal bands in the 1980s sang about evil things, singer Eric Wagner wrote lyrics about the Bible and spirituality because of his Catholic upbringing. Because of this, their record label, Metal Blade Records, called them "white metal" to contrast them with "black metal." The band did not like this label and thought it was silly.

In 1983, the band recorded a live show in Chicago. Drummer Jeff Olson mailed the tape to Metal Blade Records, and the label signed them to a contract. Trouble released their first album in 1984, which was later named Psalm 9. They released their second album, The Skull, in 1985. This album was much darker because Eric Wagner was struggling with drug addiction, and the band members were not getting along. Soon after, bassist Sean McAllister and drummer Jeff Olson left the band. People rumored that Olson left to become a preacher, but he actually went to study music college in Boston. With Ron Holzner on bass and Dennis Lesh on drums, the band released Run to the Light in 1987. This album had more melody and sounded more like classic heavy metal, but it still kept their heavy, gloomy doom sound.

Trouble - Run to the Light (RE-MASTERED)

Cross over, children, to the other side

lost little children, run to the light

look at all the lonely people

all I see is despair

and you`re lost in confusion

run to the light

why do you love the darkness

how can you see where you are going

look at all the lonely people

all I see is despair

and they`re lost in confusion

My soul is troubled

I`m afraid of the darkness,

afraid of myself

and sometimes, I don`t know where I`m going

but when I die, I know I will find my way

in the light, is our salvation

pain is just a memory

in the light, you will find the truth

all the answers, for those who want to know

we all know what it`s like

feeling like you can`t go on, I can`t go on

and sometimes, I don`t know where I`m going

but when I die, I know I will find my way

in the light, is our salvation

pain is just a memory

in the light, you will find the truth

all the answers, for those who want to know

I wanna know

Cross over, children, to the other side

lost little children, run to the light

look at all the lonely people

all I see is despair

and we`re lost in confusion

all are welcome, on the other side

run to the light!

Trouble - Run to the Light (RE-MASTERED)