It's been four years since their Manifest Decimation album made Power Trip one of the most revered young bands in the metal and hardcore underground. Mining from the metallic-tinged hardcore of Cro-Mags and the attack of vintage Bay Area thrash, the album connected with both people like me who came of age during the late '80s, and also the new jack kids who were around for the first wave of this kind of stuff. What everyone who loved Manifest Decimation could agree on was how irresistible the riffs were on the album.
Working with producer Arthur Rizk (also a member of both Sumerlands and Eternal Champion), Power Trip's new album, Nightmare Logic, doesn't stray from the potent formula that made their previous full-length outing work so well.
The album opens with "Soul Sacrifice," a track with a mid-tempo groove intro that quickly becomes a speedy strike of thrash mayhem, showcasing guitarists Blake Ibanez and Nick Stewart's "only fuck with the good stuff" approach to their riff selection. Power Trip's trip isn't about creating a mood with sonic and arrangement nuances. No, the band is all about beating you over the head with one memorable guitar riff after the other. They are relentless with this, and it's a waste of time to argue against their methodology.
Every track on Nightmare Logic is a beast, especially stuff like "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)," "Crucifixation," and the title track.
This review wouldn't be complete without a tip of the hat to Power Trip vocalist Riley Gale, who delivers the lyrics with grit and attitude yet enough clarity for some of the key moments to stand out during the musical onslaught beneath him.
Get It
- Southern Lord (LP)
- Southern Lord (CD)
- Bandcamp (mp3)
