Chicago doom-metal legends TROUBLE announced in February that they recruited Kyle Thomas as their new singer following the departure of their frontman of the past four years, Kory Clarke (of WARRIOR SOUL fame).

Thomas, former lead vocalist for EXHORDER, FLOODGATE and ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY, was no stranger to TROUBLE as he previously fronted the band for four live shows between 1997 and 1999, including Stoner Hands Of Doom festival in Maryland (see video below) and Expo Of The Extreme in Chicago. Thomas has also collaborated on projects with members of SLIPKNOT, DOWN, OBITUARY and DEICIDE.

In a new posting on TROUBLE's Facebook page, the band writes, "Kyle has been writing [vocal melodies and lyrics to the new TROUBLE songs] and is just about ready to go [to begin laying down his vocals on the new TROUBLE album] (by the way, he sounds awesome). Friday we go back to the studio to start putting final guitar tweaks down. Almost there now..."

In a recent interview with Metal Kaoz, TROUBLE guitarist Bruce Franklin stated about Kyle's addition to the band, "We didn't need to change any of the [new] music [to suit Kyle's vocals]. He really knows how to sing to TROUBLE stuff because he was a fan from way back."

Added Kyle: "They had given me four songs to work on when I was jamming with them in anticipation of possibly doing the album that came to be 'Simple Mind Condition'. I did demo one song, but nothing I did ever made it to the album. Things turned out the way that they have between then and now, and here I am."

He continued, "Bruce and Rick [Wartell, guitar] have always been great to me as people and business partners. I was made to feel an equal back then, and the same goes for now. That is monumental for me — I grew up listening to these guys and now I am a member of one of my favorite bands. You can't beat that."

TROUBLE's current lineup is:

Kyle Thomas (vocals)
Rick Wartell (guitar)
Bruce Franklin (guitar)
Shane Pasqualla (bass)
Mark Lira (drums)