Hailing from the fertile heavy music scene of the greater DFW region, and specifically Ft. Worth, Travail mixed heavy rap-core and nu metal riffs with dark tones and lyrics about the Christian struggle. Heavier than most in the genre, the band was sometimes referred to as “gothic rap-core” due to the darker tones and minor keys. Yet the lyrics pointed to higher things:
I’ve failed you I’ve lied to you
Yet you forgive and let me live
Oh God help my weakness
Oh give me your strength
Father help me
I’ll go to any length
On my face, on my chest, on my knees
God help me please
My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak
The band released a split EP with Luti-Kriss (who, of course, eventually became Norma Jean), and two full-length albums: Anchor of My Soul for the secular Pluto Records and Beautiful Loneliness for Metrovox, a sub-label Metro One.
Haven’t heard this band in a long time, used to listen to Judge Me and Song For A Friend back in the day. Listening to the latter now, the song goes pretty hard still, but it’s hard to get past this lyric:
“We can’t fall like the devil
Got to wack him with a shovel”