Resurrected thrash veterans Trauma will return to European stages in November bringing three records worth of material, from the early ‘80s to recent efforts with new material in the making. The band formed alongside thrash icons Exodus, Testament and other members of the first thrash family.
Trauma’s come a long way since debut Scratch and Scream. Roughly 35 years later in 2013 they returned, recording transitional record Rapture and Wrath in 2015, reestablishing their presence, continuing in a heavier route with 2018’s solid As the World Dies with plans of going heavier. They’re the veterans on the European Tour of Fire, sharing stages with Burning Witches and Ross the Boss.
Long time member’s vocalist Donny Hillier and drummer Kris Gustofson have brought back the trauma with bassist Greg Christian and guitarists Joe Fraulob and Steve Robello. They’re about to enter the studio, with heavy thought patterns and plans moving forward. Imagine Joey Tempest and Geoff Tate fronting a thrash band and you’ll get an idea of the present sound.
Their first European appearance was at the 2014 Headbangers Open Air Festival, playing a well received, crowd demanded 90 minute set. If everything goes as planned, they’ll have 17 dates starting in Stockholm, November 17 ending December 6 in Leipzig.
Gustofson prays that normality returns and natural touring resumes soon. “Oh man I’m praying. This whole thing’s been a damn nightmare for everyone, a real bummer.”
He’ll never take a show for granted again, “I won’t either. It puts things in perspective. Right now I believe there’s a travel ban for many in the U.S. going to Europe. I hope in the next couple months, it doesn’t derail this thing.”
Gustofson’s been doing this since the early ‘80s first wave of West Coast thrash and he’s ready to get back to bashing drums and banging heads live. “All those years ago a lot of bands were coming out of the bay area,” he remembers. “We happen to be one of them. We parted ways, quite a few years ago. A couple things came about where, we decided to put it back together and give it a go. It’s been challenging so far, to say the least but also a lot of fun.”
It wasn’t quite a 35 year vacation as members did their own thing. They wanted to give it another try after their debut Scratch and Scream was re-released. The band received live offers and has toured consistently with a few U.S. stints back east, the west coast, Midwest and a trip to Germany. They’ve also played the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise.
A new record is coming, “Right now we’ve got probably a dozen songs in the pre-production stage. We’re just sorting through to make sure all the parts fit together, so far so good. We should be entering the studio real soon.”
Playing the good showman he hints at a few song titles but will make everyone wait till it’s ready. ““Falling Down” is one, “Burnt Offerings,” we’re working on an idea of another called “Voodoo.””
It’ll be heavier than As The World Dies, “I think it will be it seems to be going in that direction. We’re gonna amp up the tempos a bit, play heavier drums and guitars. I think it’ll be heavier for sure.”
As The World Dies has a very bleak, destructive, even depressing cover with its shell-shocked post attack image. “That was actually one of the guitar player’s ideas. We thought it was kinda cool at the time. A lot of people commented on it. It was nuclear bomb oriented in a sense. I think the next album cover will not be anything similar to that.”
“The Rage” video skillfully blends a strong, rapid fire repeat punch to the eyes and ears with its strobe-like black & white delivery. “I hear ya. That whole album the theme was, as the world dies. There are people in the band that have traveled around the world a lot. It was our view at the time of what we were seeing going on.”
“Asylum” is a creepy stand out on the album. “It’s about an insane asylum. Trying to think how Donnie, came up with those words. To be honest I don’t really know. He writes some pretty heavy duty stuff sometimes. He did a really good job on that track.”
The record also features “Cool Aid” about the late ‘70s Jonestown Massacre. “That was Greg Christian’s idea,” he explains. “We were a little on the fence on that one. I had to go back and read about it to see what happened. Not a good thing. I guess he had the idea for awhile. We were really unsettled with putting it on the record. We came up with some music and decided to put it out and see what happens.”
The “Here to Hell” video was edited in England combining band clips, lyrics and epic warrior battle scenes. “We’re hoping to do a few more lyric videos here soon. We’ll keep you posted when that happens.”
Though it’s their first effort three decades after their debut he doesn’t consider Rapture and Wrath a comeback record. “A lot of people have commented on it being that,” he admits. “I don’t know if I’d go that far. That was, an album, at the time, we really didn’t know what direction to go in. I think it was more a tester to see what people interpreted where Trauma should be. We needed to gage where we were going next. That album served a purpose for doing so. We were gone so freaking long. We didn’t know if we should be super, super, heavy or moderately heavy. We got great reviews from over in Europe.” He thinks with the present lineup As the World Dies is the official comeback they wanted.
The next records going to be even heavier he insists, “It’s gonna be a good thing. As time progresses, you get a sense of what fans and the band want. It’s coming out a lot heavier for sure.”
“The Long Way Home” on Rapture starts almost like a ‘80s power ballad before being sliced in half by a lightning stringed riff. “For sure, that was the idea, by a really good friend Kurt Fry. He was in the band for awhile and wrote the song. At the time, we thought it was pretty cool. We got good reviews off that track.”
A YouTube search can find a vintage performance of the original lineup sacrificing two women on stage. “The video called “The Warlock,” was done in the early ‘80s,” he recalls. “The manager at the time thought it would be a good idea for Donny to sacrifice two women in the video. He hired from Mustang Ranch, a brothel in Nevada. They did their thing. At the time, it was pretty far out. They weren’t into going that route, but decided to make everyone happy, and go with it.”
Later in the video the drummer pulled out sticks that were on fire and played, “Actually, that was the original drummer Dennis [Schaefer] not me.” It’s a cool visual. “I actually saw them live before joining in 1982, early ’83. I’d seen them play live and him doing stuff like that.”
Gustofson joined right after legendary bassist Cliff Burton left to join Metallica. “I met him a few times, a really cool dude.” History and different sources have the story of Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield being in the crowd at The Whisky seeing Burton for the first time, but Gustofson says it was at the Troubadour.
History remembers Trauma as the band Burton left to join Metallica. Though Gustofson acknowledges the past, he wants the band to be known for their current and future history. “He was really good friends with some of the guys in the band. Everybody was really excited about him joining Metallica. No one knew what Metallica would become back then, in the early ‘80s. There’s no reason to keep talking about all those years ago. We’re concentrating on what we have in store for the future. It’s great to have memories but more important to move forward at some sort of a pace.”
They would love to tour with any band from their era, “We’d like to tour with all of them, if the possibility presents itself. This stupid pandemic has to go away first before anything can start materializing.”
With society started to reopen and re-gather he hopes there’s not a prolonged round two coming and hopes a vaccine’s in the making. “I actually had the privilege of seeing Kiss play the Oakland Coliseum on March 9, by March 12, everything was closed off. That concert was pretty much sold out. Since then it’s made me wonder, when will it get back to that again? It’s really hard to say.”
It’s affected everyone in the industry from musicians, to roadies and soundmen. “All those guys are out of work. The whole things come to a grinding halt. It’s anyone’s guess when a good time will be to get going again.”
Bands can always put music out but it’s not the same. “A lot of musicians are putting out YouTube videos, which is OK. It’s cool for the moment but there’s nothing like playing live in front of a crowd.”
Empty venue streaming has been discussed but nothing they’re rushing to do. Drive-in concerts would be a last resort. They just want the norm to return, not the new norm, but life pre-pandemic. “I’ve known a few people that had the virus and told me it’s like going to hell and back. It’s not something you wanna catch.”
Decades have passed but they’re back at it. “We’re glad we can still play. We’re looking forward to going into the studio for another album and when it’s done, everyone likes it. We hope the virus goes away so all music comes back to life.”
They’re hoping for a release around the fall. “We’re trying to have the album out prior to us leaving so I’d say, sometime in October, but not for sure. We have a few lyric videos we’ll be shooting before we go out. We’ll keep you posted.”
They haven’t decided what new material will be played yet. “They’re really fun to play,” he affirms. “We’ll throw a couple new ones in there. We opened for Metal Allegiance in January. We played a few tunes from the Scratch record, Rapture and As The World Dies. It seemed to go over pretty good. We’ll see.”
They love playing the states, “Just a question on when we and everybody can do it again. It’s weird how this virus took the wind out of music, sports, everything’s at a standstill. How much TV can you possibly watch? I wanna see a band play. The reason you see a band is to feel the power coming off the stage. You’re not gonna get that in your car. There’s gotta be a cure for this crap so people can be shoulder to shoulder again.”
Trauma hopes everyone can be safe, healthy, get back to normal life ASAP and start enjoying live music again sooner than later.
Gustofson things the album will be well-received on arrival. “We’re happy that we’re slowly and surely making some noise. We plan on continuing as long as people are into what we’re doing. Let’s hope the live thing comes back with a freakin vengeance soon.”
