Scratch and Scream

A SHRAPNEL REISSUE FIRST TIME ON CD, REMASTERED WITH BONUS TRACKS FEATURING LEGENDARY BASSIST CLIFF BURTON, PRE-METALLICA.

Trauma was founded in the Bay Area in 1980 as one of the first of the New Wave Of Bay Area Metal Bands. The original line-up included Michael Over- ton - guitar, George Lady- gui- tar, Dennis Shafer - drums, the iconic Cliff Burton (Metallica) - bass guitar, and Donny Hillier - vocals. The band quickly be- came well-known throughout the California Bay Area and be- yond, playing legendary venues like The Stone, Bill Graham’s Wolfgang’s, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, and The Troubadour. The first track TRAUMA ever recorded, “Such a Shame”, was included on Metal Blade Records, Metal Massacre II album in 1982.

After Cliff Burton’s departure to join Metallica, the band changed personnel and musicians Kris Gustofson - drums, Ross Alexander Merson - guitar, and Lucas Advincula - bass guitar joined Michael Overton and Donny Hillier in their new line-up. In 1984, TRAUMA recorded the Scratch And Scream album for Shrapnel Records. The album received many excellent reviews from primarily American and European Heavy Metal magazines, such as Kerrang, Circus, and Metal Forces, to name a few.

The Scratch and Scream album, unavailable before on a le- gitimate CD issue, has long been considered a hard to obtain, classic Heavy Metal record.

Earlier this year, the album received a Retro Recommendation by About.com/Metal in January 2013.

After a lengthy hiatus, TRAUMA has recently reformed. Donny Hillier, Kris Gustofson, and Lucas Advincula have been joined by guitarist Kurt Fry, a veteran songwriter and recording/tour- ing artist. TRAUMA has played recent shows in San Francisco and Oakland and is planning to tour. The band is currently in the studio, putting the finishing touches on their new album. The sound is unmistakably hard and heavy.