Trauma - Scratch And Scream (reissue)
Bloody hell, this is a band that you don't hear about very often! Those who have done their homework might remember Trauma as the band that once had the now-legendary bassist Cliff Burton amongst their ranks before he went on to join some other band... what was their name again? The band released the track 'Such A Shame' on the Metal Massacre II compilation with Cliff on bass, but after his departure the band reshuffled their lineup and put out a rather stellar album entitled Scratch And Scream in 1984. And until now, the record has been unavailable on CD with the exception of some poor quality bootlegs so what we have here is a real treat indeed. It's taken 29 years, but we've finally got a legitimate CD release that's not only been given the mandatory remaster treatment, but also boasts three previously unreleased demo tracks featuring Cliff Burton himself as an added bonus.
Being an album from the early eighties, Scratch And Scream is a firm reminder of what heavy metal should sound like. It's that early style of NWOBHM-tinged speed metal reminiscent of the likes of Exectioner's Song, Going For Gold and (perhaps unsurprisingly) Kill 'Em All when thrash was still in it's infancy a drew heavy influences from bands such as Motörhead and Judas Priest, though in this case the heavy metal influences are far more pronounced. It's some really classy stuff and the album holds up extremely well compared to a lot of records fro it's era - the remastering job is superb and hasn't sacrificed any of that warm eighties sound while avoiding the typical let's-just-make-it-a-bit-louder laziness that can destroy a lot of remixes. This said, Trauma's sound was an extremely common one back in the day so the number of bands that sound almost identical is staggering which may turn off a few people as even those who love their old school heavy metal wo't find a great deal in the way of individuality.
We've also been given three bonus tracks featuring Cliff Burton as an extra for having to wait so goddamn long for a fully-fledged CD release, which is a neat touch despite feeling a little bit standard. One is an early demo of 'Such A Shame' and the other two tracks - 'We're Going Off' and 'Woman Be Gone' - have never been released or re-recorded elsewhere, though in the case of the former it's not hard to understand why since it's over eight minutes long. They're not too bad, but it feels rather bare-bones... the band had two other demos which could have easily been included here, so three bonus tracks does feel a little bit cheap even if they feature Cliff Burton on bass. And if I'm honest, you can't really tell that it's him until about two minutes into 'We're Going Off' where he does a rather fantastic bass solo... but I guess that's more than enough for some people. Your mileage may vary. These extra tracks aren't bad in the slightest but they do feel rather cheap.
Scratch And Scream is still an extremely good album and it's great to finally be able to buy it on CD, but the bonus tracks come across as a tacked-on extra when the reissue could have been fleshed out more fully. Gripes aside, this is a brilliant listen for fans of classic heavy metal and power-thrash that shouldn't be overlooked.
Being an album from the early eighties, Scratch And Scream is a firm reminder of what heavy metal should sound like. It's that early style of NWOBHM-tinged speed metal reminiscent of the likes of Exectioner's Song, Going For Gold and (perhaps unsurprisingly) Kill 'Em All when thrash was still in it's infancy a drew heavy influences from bands such as Motörhead and Judas Priest, though in this case the heavy metal influences are far more pronounced. It's some really classy stuff and the album holds up extremely well compared to a lot of records fro it's era - the remastering job is superb and hasn't sacrificed any of that warm eighties sound while avoiding the typical let's-just-make-it-a-bit-louder laziness that can destroy a lot of remixes. This said, Trauma's sound was an extremely common one back in the day so the number of bands that sound almost identical is staggering which may turn off a few people as even those who love their old school heavy metal wo't find a great deal in the way of individuality.
We've also been given three bonus tracks featuring Cliff Burton as an extra for having to wait so goddamn long for a fully-fledged CD release, which is a neat touch despite feeling a little bit standard. One is an early demo of 'Such A Shame' and the other two tracks - 'We're Going Off' and 'Woman Be Gone' - have never been released or re-recorded elsewhere, though in the case of the former it's not hard to understand why since it's over eight minutes long. They're not too bad, but it feels rather bare-bones... the band had two other demos which could have easily been included here, so three bonus tracks does feel a little bit cheap even if they feature Cliff Burton on bass. And if I'm honest, you can't really tell that it's him until about two minutes into 'We're Going Off' where he does a rather fantastic bass solo... but I guess that's more than enough for some people. Your mileage may vary. These extra tracks aren't bad in the slightest but they do feel rather cheap.
Scratch And Scream is still an extremely good album and it's great to finally be able to buy it on CD, but the bonus tracks come across as a tacked-on extra when the reissue could have been fleshed out more fully. Gripes aside, this is a brilliant listen for fans of classic heavy metal and power-thrash that shouldn't be overlooked.
1. The Day All Hell Broke Loose
2. Bringin' The House Down
3. I Kill For Less
4. Scratch And Scream
5. The Warlock
6. Lay Low
7. In The End
8. We Are Watching You
9. The Flight Of The Raven
10. Such A Shame (Bonus Track)
11. We're Going Off (Bonus Track)
12. Woman Be Gone (Bonus Track)
2. Bringin' The House Down
3. I Kill For Less
4. Scratch And Scream
5. The Warlock
6. Lay Low
7. In The End
8. We Are Watching You
9. The Flight Of The Raven
10. Such A Shame (Bonus Track)
11. We're Going Off (Bonus Track)
12. Woman Be Gone (Bonus Track)
