Trouble was formed in 1978 in Aurora IL. by High School student Rick Wartell and was joined by guitarist Bruce Franklin, vocalist Eric Wagner, bassist Tim Ian Brown and drummer Jeff Olson. Ian Brown was
replaced by Sean McAllister in 1983. The band toured throughout the Midwest during the early 1980s.

On February 5, 1983, the band recorded “Trouble Live in Chicago”. Drummer Jeff Olson mailed a cassette to Brian Slagel of Metal Blade Records and the band landed their first record deal. Trouble released their eponymous self titled debut (Often referred
to as Psalm 9 by their fans ) March 10, 1984 on Metal Blade Records.

Drawing from Black Sabbath for inspiration (with occasional nods to the psychedelic sounds of the late 1960s), the band used gloomy downtuned riffs and spiritual , often openly Bible-inspired lyrics, The band is most notably known for pioneering the Doom Metal genre. The Skull followed in 1985 and reflected singer Wagner’s struggles with substance abuse as well as growing turmoil within the group. This led to the replacement of bassist McAllister with Ron Holzner. Drummer Jeff Olson
also departed. The band went on to release several albums on various labels. There’s been some lineup changes and a couple of hiatus’s but aversion of Trouble still exists in Chicagoland.