Trauma – Awakening
Release Date: 9th September 2022
Label: Massacre Records
Pre-Order/Pre-Save
Genre: Thrash, Old School Thrash.
FFO: Voivod, Exodus, Megadeth.
Review By: Andy Spoon
For those who may not have ever heard of Trauma before, I think that I have a treat for you. Much like you, I was exposed only to the single from this album, Walk Away, and was extremely-interested in the rest of the album as these guys have really found a killer sound that needs to be experienced if you are a fan of thrash, dark power metal, or guitar-god rock. Even though some of the stylized form is outdated, Awakening is a fat-sounding, speedy, lively thrash album that entertains, engages, and remains relevant to listeners today.
If you are a fan of Megadeth, you would instantly recognize the basal level of the vocal range, as vocalist Brian Allen’s vocals are highly-reminiscent of the sneering, nasal technique used by Mustaine for so many eons. However, there are further enhancements into Allen’s range that make the style abundantly-more dynamic, including high-pitched falsetto wails, growls, and deeper groans to create much more diversity in the sound. It’s almost like someone took the Mustaine-style vocal, and added some of the missing things that we would all have wished to hear. I thought that his style would wear on me, but I was pleased to find that it really works for Trauma’s style and gives exceptional life to the overall sound.
The highlight, for me, is the guitar work on the album. Steve Robello and Joe Fraulob duel back and forth in lead harmonies in ample sections and chunk through rhythm sections with a beautifully-orchestrated execution. It’s truly the highlight of the album. I remember when I reviewed Voivod’s album this year. I had the exact same feeling about the guitar work. This is just on another level. It’s not necessarily just wailing up and down the neck for 4 minutes at a time. There is a distinct restraint and production value on every single track that harkens back to the classic days of power metal and thrash, but is much more polished and “tamed” for audience enjoyment.
I remember listening to an album by Tech Death act First Fragment last year, and just thought, “Jeez, these guys are just showing off”, which just-slightly detracted from the fun of the album as I was entirely trying to just keep up with the technique and speed. Trauma has some pretty extreme chops, but there is a dynamic withholding of the typical shredding until it is just the right moment in the track, allowing the listener to really enjoy the harmonizing leads, or allowing Brian Allen’s vocals to go full Judas Priest for a bar or two without trying to cram everything all together all at once, a major pitfall on albums like this. The fact that they found a way to get Awakening to sound this dynamically-precise is absolutely a credit to Juan Urteaga of Trident Studios, credited with the mix/master.
The history of Trauma is interesting, as they were active in the old school thrash scene from 1981-1985, having some of the older marquee names of thrash in their ranks, namely. Cliff Burton (RIP). After a hiatus for around 30 years, Trauma re-emerged in 2014 with a gaggle of new members around original drummer, Kris Gustofson, who is the only member from the old days. In 2020, vocalist Donny Hillier passed away, allowing Brian Allen to enter the band’s current lineup. In essence, there isn’t a whole lot of the original Trauma left in 2022, except in spirit. Most of Awakening was written in 2020 during the pandemic, as many albums released in 2022 are. The band wanted to bring some of that into the writing and development process, the press release citing that they were going for a darker, heavier, and grittier tone, something that is fairly-evident upon a full listen of Awakening.
In my personal opinion, the weak point is the drum mastering, which sounds electronic or triggered. There is just a lack of life that comes forward when you have bass drum hits that are completely identical one from another. It sounds like the beats were made in Ableton or another drum track program. There is so much “good” on the album that I feel the drum tracking is negligible, but the small voice in the back of my head always manages to hear it every time it becomes evident. I won’t say which tracks it’s most-evident on in case you are unable to tell, but it does raise an eyebrow. Overall, I think that Trauma’s new release is absolutely a headbanger. It gathers the fandoms of old school thrash with younger listeners who want fresh material with darker and more relevant themes as much of the contemporary thrash has a death metal alter-ego. If you are a fan of Voivod, Exodus, or Megadeth, this is a serious must-have for your 2022 playlist, as I think it does almost everything very well and makes for a fun and entertaining listen.
(3.5 / 5)
