US thrash legends, Trauma, performed on the 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise, offering two great shows, in the Pyramid Lounge on the first day, and in the Ice Arena on the fourth day.

The staff of True Metal Lives was present on the cruise, and have written an outstanding live review on the Trauma’s performance. An excerpt follows:

Thursday, February 2nd, 2017 - “The Independence of the Seas pulled up anchor and headed for the open seas at 5 PM. A scant 15 minutes later, the live music began. Jen and I kicked off our first 70000 Tons of Metal experience by checking out Trauma on the tiny Pyramid Lounge stage. Trauma’s booking was a real surprise, because they’re a true underground metal act that even played Headbangers Open Air in Germany a couple of years ago.

“Trauma is most often remembered as the band from which Metallica plucked Cliff Burton, but there’s a lot more to them than a historical footnote. I had never expected to see the band live, so it was a wonderful surprise when they were booked.

Right out of the chute, they played five songs in a row from their seminal Scratch And Scream album released on Shrapnel Records in 1984. Although vocalist Donny Hilliard is the only remaining member from those days, and he’s hard-pressed to hit those high notes today, both he and the band sounded great. It was a treat to hear songs like “Bringing The House Down” and “The Day All Hell Broke Loose”. Those were part of the soundtrack of my teenage years back in the glorious ‘80s, and it was cool as hell to hear them delivered with style and class.

“The newer songs also sounded strong, especially set closer “When I Die”. Talking to the guys later that night when Jen and I bumped into them on the Royal Promenade, I was impressed by their warmth and genuineness.”

Read the whole review here.