Trust Obey

John Bergin conceived Trust Obey as his central creative outlet. From 1988 onward he issued a succession of self-released recordings devoted to shadowy, abrasive sonic investigations bearing titles such as Rip Saw, The Veil, and Locust. In 1993 he enlisted guitarist Brett Smith to assemble a working ensemble able to perform live. Among the project’s most notable releases was Fear and Bullets: Music to Accompany the Crow, issued jointly by Kitchen Sink Press and Graphitti Designs as a CD tucked inside a limited hardcover edition of James O’Barr’s graphic novel The Crow. Its tracks evoke spirituality and isolation, tracing the emotional desolation of O’Barr’s central figure. Not long after the album’s appearance, Nothing/Interscope Records offered Trust Obey a contract that proved brief; the label dropped the act, reportedly concluding it held insufficient commercial promise. Fifth Colvmn Records promptly signed the group and issued Hands of Ash in 1996. Deezal later reissued Fear and Bullets in 1999, substituting new packaging illustrated by James O’Barr for the original graphic novel.