Trial. What do you know about Trial? 10 years ago, I didn't know squat. 10 days ago, I barely knew more than squat. As of right now, I know a hell of a lot more. It's funny how much can change in 10 years. Then again, it's funny how much remains the same.



10 years ago, I has absolutely no idea who Trial was. Not a clue. I'm from New England, not the northwest so this isn't so unfathomable. It wasn't until 1999 that I had my first Trial experience. Let me set the stage for you. Fuck, actually, it must have been 1998. It couldn't have been 1999. Hmm, anyway.

Tre (from Deathwish Inc) and Dalbec (from Bane/Converge/Velocity Engine/...) had just moved out of 34 John St (ooh, did I drop something there? hey, now!). Dalbec was a terrible collector and had tons of shit. When he moved out, he left behind weird random crap. I say "left behind" because I would feel bad if I took stuff he was going to come back and get. Anyway, he left behind a million No Reason stickers and some random odds and ends. One of these pieces was a Trial hooded sweatshirt. It was pretty chill. Black with maroon/brown font and oddly, white hood draw strings. This seemed strange, but I was down for a hooded sweatshirt that said "STRAIGHT EDGE," you know?

I washed the sweatshirt that day as I wanted to wear it to a show that night in Connecticut. When I pulled it out of the dryer, I also mysteriously found the smallest iron maiden shirt. Complete schmedium or youth large. Shit was tiny. But it was amazing and super soft so I ended up wearing both to the show. Now this was going to be some late, all nighter gig in CT. As all CT shows started late and ran super later.

We rolled up to Billy Willys in Brookfield CT expecting to see Bane, Reach The Sky and Fear Tomorrow. We actually ended up sitting in the Converge van (Dalbec borrowed it for the the long ride to CT for Bane). And sitting and sitting and sitting. I think Billy Willy didn't show up until much later and no one could get in the club. During our long wait, we found out that Trial was playing a show somewhere else in CT, but their show was canceled. And they were now going to play the Billy Willy show. So there I was, that guy. I was rocking the trial hood and was totally that guy. But I was semi embarrassed to remove the hood because the iron maiden shirt was soooo fucking small. In the end, I removed the hood and watched Trial play a long set. Maybe it just felt long because they probably didn't start playing until 9pm. I think Craig Mack also wore a gas mask during the Fear Tomorrow set and he more than likely was throwing stools. Actually, I guess it was someone else who was throwing stools. But in my mind, it was Craig Mack.

So that was my first and really only Trial experience. The only thing that could be considered a partial Trial experience was eating dinner with Greg Bennick in Seattle. Of course, this was in 2006 and I was sitting at a table with about 14 other people. In fact, if asked, I bet he wouldn't be able to point me out in a lineup. Not that I would expect him to be able to, of course. Just saying.

So, long story short, my exposure to Trial is pretty damn limited. I don't think I even owned the cd. I think I always lumped them (unfortunately) in the whole politcal metal hardcore genre.

Fast forward to 2008. 10 years later, I'm a little older, a little wiser (HAHA), and I've come to realize that there is a difference between "time and place" and "acquired taste." Like I said, I wasn't from the nortwest in the mid 90s. I was from the home of Ten Yard Fight and In My Eyes. My time and place involved The Space and the OCBC (old cambridge baptist church, harvard sq). But after watching the retrospective and reunion shows featured on this dvd, I think Trial can easily become a great acquired taste in 2008. Of course, you won't be seeing them live anytime soon, but you can settle back with some popcorn and watch these DVDs at your leisure. Fuck it, you can even put these DVDs on and mosh in your living room.

So yeah, you have 2 amazing DVDs full of great content. Plenty of live shows from 2005 and plenty of older footage from the mid 90s. Even better than that (well, at least to me) is the retrospective with Greg and Timm. They really break it down and tell it like it is. They make it easy to love Trial as individuals, more than just a band. They talk about straight edge, veganism and political hardcore. They admit to being that political hardcore band I heard about way back in 1998. But then again, they prove that the band was WAY more than just that genre label.

There you have it. You better look into this dual dvd set. In fact, go order it from Panic Records right now. You owe it to yourself.

Edit: Looky what I found!


A poser but not a liar.