Time Signature Trauma's back to traumatize you...

Genre: traditional metal

Famously, Trauma is the band that Cliff Burton played in before joining Metallica. But they're more than just Burton's old band. Trauma is a band in their own right, releasing "Scratch and Scream" in 1984 before folding the following year. The band was reunited in 2013 and their second full-length "Rapture and Wrath" is to be released later this month.

Although often referred to as a power/speed metal band, Trauma deliver considerably heavy traditional metal on this album, ranging from 'The Walking Dead' with its southern grooves over the old school heavy metal rocker 'When I Die' to the heavy 'Egypt'. The songs on the album are characterized by a pervading heaviness and orientation towards 1980s metal aesthetics. However, unlike most other contemporary metal that looks to the 1980s, "Rapture and Wrath" is considerably dark.

The production is a bit dirty, which is one of the major components in this darkness. While the vocals are perhaps a bit too loud in the mix, this production is actually pretty cool because from it emanates a sense of authenticity and sheer rock 'n' roll spirit. I can imagine, however, that some listeners who are used to polished metal productions will find it hard to accept the rawness of this album.

In all, this is a pretty good release which offers a darker take on the spirit of 1980s metal. I hope to hear more from this band in the future.