Metal Underground.com

Trouble are a legendary band. They were a hit with a litany of classics before even releasing their debut, and past a unique mix of doom and thrash metal they were further characterized by searing vocals, an incredible guitar tone and polarizing Christianity themed lyrics. After a well publicized split from original vocalist Eric Wagner (and replacement vocalist Kory Clarke) the updates about a new album that seemed less and less likely to eventuate became sparse until they surprisingly snapped up Kyle Thomas of ex-Exhorder fame. A match made in heaven? A return to doom thrash glory? Alas it is not to be.

I'll get to the music momentarily but we may as well get down to the burning question on your mind. How does Kyle fit Eric’s rather large shoes? One thing I can say for sure is that his vocals completely alter the Trouble experience. There will be split camps on the new dynamic, but me? It doesn't suit the silhouette. As badly as I of all people want this to work it just isn't my cup of doom. Like a mix somewhere between a gruff Russell Allen of Symphony X, Phil Anselmo, and Crowbar's Kirk Windstein, this album is an ironic reversal of the Exhorder/Pantera debates except this time it's Kyle is following in Phil's vocal footsteps in Down. It's not at all bad; Kyle is competent with the voice he has and doesn't hold back. But it leans on the blues-rock visage much more than Eric's ever mournful wail and is a difficult pill to swallow.

OK, good to get that out of the way. Now for all Trouble's 80s glory, the band achieved the most commercially in the 90s with albums like the self titled "Trouble" (which draws some parallels to Metallica’s "Metallica") and "Manic Frustration," albums that embraced a groovy, pre-grunge psychedelic metal sound. And for what it's worth, Trouble did it well. Damn well. In fact unlike the doom/thrash stalwarts that stopped paying attention to Trouble after "Run to the Light," I've enjoyed everything the group has done right up to 2007's "Simple Mind Condition." "The Distortion Field" is an album that essentially follows straight on from where Trouble left off, but mixes the style in with enough tracks hearkening back to older albums as to serve as a good retrospective of the band’s sound.

So this isn't "Psalm 10," but it has every bit of the Trouble spirit. "When The Sky Comes Down" kicks us off with a bang and a raucous chugging riff that vies against Trouble’s best material, while great chuggers like "Hunters of Doom" or slabs of doom like "Sink or Swim" prove that the band has plenty of killer riffs up its sleeve. Franklin and Wartell have their infamous guitar tones out in full force and I can say I was not let down in this department. Their solos and super thick riffing are the highlights of the record, and for me it’s a reprieve to sit back and know without a doubt I'm listening to a Trouble album.

There are one or two duds - "Have I Told You" sounds like a Pearl Jam B-Side and if you're a fan of their early stuff the upbeat blues tune "Glass of Lies" will make you feel more despair than you thought a doom metal band ever could. But given that the album has 13 tracks, it's not a deal breaker and the rest of the tracks are solid enough to stand up to any later era Trouble.

If you're a Trouble fan, you'll find a killer album if you listen to "The Distortion Field" as if it were from an entirely new band, or perhaps a new Crowbar release. But if you can't make that leap you're going to end up right beside me, constantly chiding yourself for thinking "this album would be better with Eric on vocals, right?" Great music aside, "The Distortion Field" will always cause me a distant pain, a foreign unexplainable loss, a deep inner trouble.