Most recently found playing keys in In~Graved alongside Victor Griffin, former Trouble drummer Jeff “Oly” Olson has once again joined forces with Trouble offshoot The Skull, who’ve begun writing their debut album.

I think my favorite part about this news — other than the fact that it leads me to think there’s a potential time at which one might be able to view vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Ron Holzner and Olson in The Skull playing 1984’s classic Trouble debut, Psalm 9 in its entirety to mark the 30th anniversary of its release — is that with three members of the band’s most revered lineup, The Skull is now more Trouble than Trouble. Trouble still has guitarists Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell, and they’ve issued a new album in this year’s The Distortion Field (review here), but it will be interesting to hear how The Skull‘s studio outing — to be recorded by Billy Anderson — stands up. One way or another, comparisons will be inevitable.

Also, beer! Life only gets more fascinating:

Jeff “Oly” Olson has joined forces again with THE SKULL, the band he formed with fellow original member of Chicago doom-metal legends TROUBLE vocalist Eric Wagner and the band’s longtime bassist Ron Holzner.

Olson states, “I know that I’ve mentioned that I wouldn’t perform TROUBLE‘s music anymore unless it’s with the other original members, but I’ve had a change of heart. I want to rock again. Although I have been having a great time playing keys for IN~GRAVED (led by former Pentagram guitarist Victor Griffin), I miss the drums and playing classic TROUBLE songs. I’m still going to jam with Victor, but there is room for THE SKULL too.”

“In just a few short months, 2014 will mark the 30th anniversary year for TROUBLE‘s debut record Psalm 9. TROUBLE guitarists Rick Wartell and Bruce Franklin are having fun with their new record, and I had fun writing some intros for it, it’s just that Eric, Ron, and myself want to jam too and celebrate our 30th anniversary as well with a tour and a new record. We’ve worked just as hard as Bruce and Rick over the years and we feel that we’ve earned the privilege to celebrate with the fans as well. There is no animosity between the two bands and we intend to keep it that way.” We are currently writing a debut record set for release in 2014 and I’ve already submitted several songs to the guys. Excitement is in the air.”

“I’m also going to be brewing a beer for Allagash Brewing Company (based in Portland, Maine) set for release for the 2013 holidays. The beer will be Imperial Stout brewed with cranberries. More on that later… life is good!”

THE SKULL‘s debut release will be produced by Billy Anderson (HIGH ON FIRE, SLEEP, NEUROSIS) this autumn in Portland, Oregon and the yet-to-be-determined record label will be announced soon.

Confirmed shows are as follows:
September 14 – Tequilla Jaxx – Cleveland, OH (with Earthen Grave)
October 11 – Denver Doom Fest III – Denver, CO
October 13 – Fall Into Darkness VII – Portland, OR
October 19 – Loaded – Hollywood, CA

The 2014 PSALM 9 30th Anniversary Tour is currently being booked for both The U.S and Europe.

THE SKULL is:
Eric Wagner – vocals
Jeff Olson – drums
Ron Holzner – bass
Michael Capenter – guitar
Lothar Keller- guitar

Trouble, Psalm 9 (1984)

If you’re going to kiss a record’s ass, a good reason to do so is the dude who made it was in Chicago doom legends Trouble, but much as I’ve tried, and tried, and tried to unconditionally accept Again, the self-released full-length debut from Jeff “Oly” Olson’s Retro Grave project, I just can’t do it. The album was originally download-only, and came out early in 2009, but was tweaked for physical issue and given its hard copy release in February. More or less since then (it might have been March), when I got the record, I’ve been avoiding reviewing it.

It’s not that Again is bad, but it is very disjointed. I get that Retro Grave is supposed to be an experimental project, but Olson as the chief songwriter, is still using the basic elements of heavy music that launched Trouble in the early ‘80s. It just feels like he has put them in the wrong order. The riff that drives “So So Souls,” for example, is killer, has that full-on swagger that made Trouble a metallic household name, but the surrounding elements aren’t cohesive, and after five minutes, when the track drops to organ, I can’t help but feel let down in a, “Hey, bring that back!” kind of way. Olson, who went to Berklee and clearly knows his shit, can only be doing it on purpose, and I don’t doubt that writing a song like “Monstah” (as opposed to “monster”) is a lot of fun, but that isn’t necessarily going to translate into the listening experience.

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