My o my, fans of this band must have felt in so much Trouble over the last years. �Would they release their promised album, or wouldn�t they?� was the main question that must have risen in many metal head�s minds. Luckily for them, Trouble presents. Simple Mind Conduction. Finally.

 

Let�s not get into the details of everything that went wrong during the recordings, label talks etc. Enough has been said already. The fact is that, after Psalm 9 andThe Skull, this album must meet the quality of songs on those records. And unfortunately, it doesn�t. The songs differ from the previous work of the band, because they�re much more straight forward. The (slow) interludes in between the songs have disappeared and made place for decent up-tempo songs. However, especially the guitar riffs, it�s all pretty much basic rock songs without any surprises. Imagine the old Trouble and combine it with a little higher speed and you have the recipe of Simple Mind Conduction.

It�s not like there is just one pattern on the album; the extremities have just come closer. Opener �Going Home� and �Trouble Maker� have such enthusiasm that I�m sure it�ll do pretty nice in any rock bar. However, the slow track �Arthur Brown�s Whiskey Bar� and the title track, with pretty annoying, squeezing vocals make clear to me that the band could not choose a clear direction and as a result, the album sounds a little like an olla podrida. Music-wise it�s pretty much ok. Yet, after waiting for so long and having kept patience for a few years, I hoped for a little more.