It was 40 years ago that Kris Gustofson joined San Franciscan speedsters Trauma. He was the beat behind the iconic “Such a Shame” off Metal Massacre II, as well as their classic Scratch and Scream album from 1984. Fast forward 40 years later and Gustofson is still the blood that keeps Trauma’s metal heart beating. Back and bolder than ever with a new album and new lineup, we sat down with Gustofson to discuss the past, present, and future of one of America’s finest underground metal gems; a powerhouse who’s still “Bringin’ the House Down” in 2022.
Greetings Kris and welcome to Defenders of the Faith! How are you doing today?
Kris Gustofson: I’m doing good man! How about yourself?
Doing fantastic! I’d like to start out by congratulating you on the new album, Awakening. I know today is the big release day. I was lucky enough to hear it a couple weeks early and it is a smoker of an album, a total ass-kicker.
KG: Thank you man! That’s nice to hear.
Trauma has consistently been releasing new material since their 2013 reunion. When did work get started on this latest release?
KG: We worked on it in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic. We started around 2019, and then with the passing of Donny Hillier in 2020, it threw it on ice for a little while because we weren’t sure if we were gonna continue or what we were gonna do. Thank God our producer was able to find Brian Allen. That was a miracle that that happened.
How far into the writing or pre-production of this album were you with Donny? For you, as the last classic member of Trauma, did you have any hesitation on continuing without him?
KG: I had known Donny for many, many years. I met him in the early 80s. When I found out he was really sick, before he got to a point where he really couldn’t talk anymore, he told me that he wanted the band to continue on. I had that in the back of my mind, but the question was who are we gonna get? Those were some pretty large shoes to fill. To answer your question, there definitely was a little bit of hesitation on how we were gonna go about doing it. I was literally at the studio getting ready to set my drums up when I got the phone call that he was really ill. We called the session off and we waited a couple months before we really did anything. It was definitely a process.
A process that paid off in this record. Could you tell us a bit about this latest incarnation of Trauma? Who plays on Awakening with you?
KG: It’s got Greg Christian on bass, Joe Fraulob on guitars, Steve Robello on guitars, and Brian Allen on vocals.
How does this lineup compare or contrast to past lineups of Trauma?
KG: I’d have to honestly say I think that all the players that we have in this lineup, it’s probably the best that we’ve ever been, aside from the lineup we had on the Scratch and Scream album. That was a really good lineup as well, but unfortunately, none of those guys can really do this anymore. They had other commitments, otherwise they’d be doing it.
While many of your peers seem to get lighter and more radio accessible, Trauma has grown heavier and thrashier with age. What do you attribute this to?
KG: I think it had to do a lot with the songwriting process during the pandemic. Everything was closed down. We couldn’t go play gigs. It was really hard to get together, so we just tried to come up with material that represented how everybody was feeling at that time. When Brian Allen joined the fold, that added a whole new dimension in terms of vocals to all the music. I think it ended up sounding heavier than we even thought it was going to.
I want to talk about the debut single from this album, the ultra-aggressive “Walk Away”. How did this song come to be and why did it feel right to release it as the first single?
KG: That song was written by Steve Robello. It’s got a lot of different elements to it and whatnot. We really like that track a lot. Playing it is a lot of fun. As far as the single being released first, it was what the record label wanted to do. They thought it was a good, strong track. That music video was done by a guy named Mike Slote. We thought he did a really good job with it. We had a lot of fun doing it. We hope people like it. So far what we’ve been hearing has been really positive.
Who were your favorite drummers growing up? Was there any one drummer that inspired you to pursue the path as a career?
KG: I started playing a really long time ago. My dad was a drummer. That’s pretty much what interested me in doing this. As far as when I got older, I started listening to a lot of Zeppelin with (John) Bonham and Sabbath with Bill Ward. Guys like Tommy Aldridge, there’s so many of them. There’s a lot of jazz guys and Gene Hoglan. There’s so many new guys that are really, really good. I like to listen to a lot of different music as well. There’s so many really good musicians now. I’d be on this phone call for quite a while if I named everybody I appreciate as a drummer. It’s quite a long list.
How did you end up joining Trauma? I know the band formed in ’81, but you formed in ’82.
KG: Yeah, basically I was playing for a band in San Francisco and we were looking for a singer. Donny Hillier happened to show up one night and mentioned to me, “I’m the lead singer of a band called Trauma.” I remember those guys playing around town. I think I did see them once or twice. He told me, “We’re looking for a drummer. Would you be interested in auditioning?” Which I did. Several days later, after I auditioned, I got offered the gig. Shortly after that, we signed with Shrapnel Records and did Scratch and Scream.
Many people look back at that early 80s Bay Area scene: All the classic bands and classic albums it spawned. When it was happening for you guys, being alongside Metallica, Exodus, Slayer, Possessed, and so on, did it ever occur to you that what you were doing was a little bit different or something new in comparison to the NWOBHM and what came before? Or did that not sink in until decades later?
KG: To be honest with you, we played gigs with Slayer, Exodus, Vicious Rumours, Lȧȧz Rockit, and a lot of different bands like that. When listening to those other bands, they were all doing their own thing. They were creating what they thought was good for metal music at that time. For us, as far as Trauma was concerned, with the way that Donny sang, we were a little more like Judas Priest or Maiden. I had a lot of people tell me that, “Oh my God! You guys remind me of Judas Priest!” That’s cool! I’ll take that. Back in those days, everybody was just trying to develop something and come up with their own thing.
Trauma is best known for being the band Cliff Burton played in before Metallica. Are there any memories of Cliff that instantly come to mind?
KG: I remember Cliff when we would play gigs in the Bay Area. He always seemed to be around. He really supported Trauma, even after he joined Metallica. We’d sit and drink some beers together, hang out. He was a really cool guy. Donny and Mike Overton were the ones that knew him well, but just hanging out with him and meeting him, he was a really cool dude.
What are some of the most memorable shows Trauma played in the 80s?
KG: I remember one time we played with Girlschool from England. That was a really cool gig. That was at the Stone. We did a gig with Slayer at the Keystone Berkley. That was a trip. We also played with Exodus at the Stone, and we did a gig with Saxon at the Keystone Palo Alto. There’s quite a few of ’em!
Did you guys ever play Ruthie’s Inn?
KG: Oh yeah!
Legendary as these venues are, they were not big. What did they hold? Maybe 200 people?
KG: Well the Stone held 400. The Keystone Berkley was about that same size. The Keystone Palo Alto would hold 6 or 700. The smallest one was Ruthie’s Inn for sure. That was like 100 people. It was a tiny place.
There’s this one picture I saw, I believe in the Murder in the Front Row documentary. I can’t remember if it was Slayer or Possessed playing, but there’s this huge pit and in the middle is Kirk (Hammett) from Metallica shooting a water gun at the stage.
KG: *laughs* That’s funny man! Sounds like Kirk! So cool *laughs*!
This year marks the 40th anniversary that Trauma’s classic anthem, “Such a Shame”, was featured on the legendary Metal Massacre II compilation. Was there any specific reasons why a record deal with Metal Blade never materialized?
KG: That’s a good question man. I think, more than anything, it had to do with the fact that we were gone for so long. The band parted ways in 1986. We were off the map for so long. We weren’t doing anything. When we resurrected this thing, we were trying to find our direction per se. We did the Rapture and Wrath record. I wasn’t a huge fan of that one. I thought As the World Dies was really good. I just don’t think we developed enough material that they (Metal Blade) would be interested in it. That’s about the only thing I can think of. It wasn’t a matter of not pursuing them or anything like that. It was the way the cards fell.
When it did come time for the reunion, who was the catalyst for that?
KG: Mike Varney (Shrapnel) wanted to do a rerelease of Scratch and Scream. He said that he thought it would be a good idea to have a band in case we get any offers to do festivals. That’s what we did. It took a while until we were able to get the lineup that we have now.
What are Trauma’s plans moving forward? Are there any plans for touring in the works?
KG: Yeah, our management right now is working on some dates in Europe and the US. Hopefully we’ll have something happening here in the next several months to announce. The plan is to get out and play.
That’s fantastic, especially after the last couple years we’ve had.
KG: Oh man. Tell me about it! We just did the Alacatraz Festival over in Belgium. It was so nice to just get out and play. We truly look forward to it!
The new Trauma album, Awakening, is available now on Massacre Records. For more information on Trauma, visit www.traumametal.com.