Trouble
Manic Frustration

Without preambles: "Manic Frustration" is one of the grooviest and most intense albums of the nineties.

An intense flow of hard rock tinged with Sabbathian acid doom, engaging, melodic just enough (and here you can hear some reminiscences of the more psychedelic Beatles), supported by an enlightening performance from the duo Bruce Franklin/Rick Wartell on guitars, not to forget the vitriolic voice (reminiscent of the best hard tradition of the '70s, see Plant and Coverdale) of the singer Eric Wagner (also the author of all the lyrics), true trademark of Trouble.

The album under review, released in 1992 for Def American and produced by that hippie freak known by the name of Rick Rubin (Danzig, Slayer, etc.), certainly represents the peak of commercial sales for Trouble, with over 200,000 copies sold worldwide (which might seem very few, but keep in mind that in that year grunge completely monopolized the musical attention of a vast audience already devoted to listening to hard sounds) and also, in my humble opinion, the most complete and varied work ever produced by the Chicago, Illinois combo.

The primordial doom influences (please, don’t think of bands like Candlemass and the like because the similarities are almost nil) of clear Sabbathian matrix, always very present and recognizable, are softening into a clearly more blues hard rock oriented taste (read Led Zeppelin above all, especially in the magnificent "Memory's Garden") that at times flows into country like in the first of the two ballads present, the clean "Rain".

To counterbalance these recent tendencies, there are scorching, powerful tracks with truly captivating riffing, in short, classic headbangin’ songs, such as the opening trio composed of the opener "Come Touch The Sky" (I dare anyone not to sing along the refrain once heard), the exceedingly catchy and seventies "Scuse Me" and the monstrous "The Sleeper", 3.14 minutes of neck-devastation chasing the unusual bluesy indulgence that characterizes the song's main riffs.

In addition, as mentioned earlier, a decidedly psychedelic tone not only in songwriting (present in songs like the final Beatle-esque "Breathe"), but also in the lyrics (for example "Hello Strawberry Skies" and "Mr. White") which bear the melancholy revival of hippie movement ideologies, thus peace and love but also drugs and related hallucinations, complete with description and side effects. It should be noted that this is a rather unusual solution adopted by the already mentioned singer who authored the lyrics, more dedicated to religious themes of orthodox Christian and puritan stamp, so much so that in the early period of their career Trouble were somewhat superficially labeled as "White Metal". (For more information read the remarkable review by the excellent Bartleboom of the album "Psalm 9").

To better make the potential reader of this review understand the historical significance of this "Manic Frustration", it's enough to remember an interesting anecdote: after the release and global success of Metallica's black album, the Four Horsemen, seeking inspiration for what would become the mediocre "Load" (mediocre in my humble opinion, of course), stumbled upon our band thanks to a series of gigs in which, amazed by the raw and expressive sounds of our Trouble, they even asked how to set the amps to achieve that unique sound. 

On this note, from a purely technical point of view, we are faced with unmistakably Gibsonian sounds, enriched with the use of cry baby and wha wha in abundance on every notable phrasing. The recording is decidedly crystal clear and rich in mid-range without being overly produced or excessively sweetened, thus safeguarding the most sincere and direct side of the band.

Ultimately, an album I strongly recommend to all rock lovers in general and particularly to those who love seventies and acidic sounds.

Happy listening.