#violater

Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Ohio

Power Trip: Manifest Decimation (2013)

Though it was a rush to see one my favorite music genres of all time -- thrash metal -- enjoying an unlikely third millennium renaissance, it didn’t take long for me to realize that most of the bands in this new generation lacked the spirit and fire of their 1980s heroes.

By which I mean that, while many of these young musicians were diligent students of the form, sometimes even technically superior to their ancestors, that same, clinical instrumental efficiency often robbed their works of the savage violence and sheer excitement (to say nothing of the originality) that fueled ‘80s thrash.

Of course, there were a few partial exceptions to this rule ...

Exceptions like Dallas, Texas’ Power Trip, who immediately caught my ear with their wild and unhinged 2013 debut album, Manifest Decimation, which was surprisingly released through the doom-focused Southern Lord label, but that’s of course beside the point.

More to the point was the legitimate fury with which the quintet -- vocalist Riley Gale (R.I.P.), lead guitarist Blake Ibanez, rhythm guitarist Nick Stewart, bassist Chris Whetzel, and drummer Chris Ulsh -- unleashed their chaotically controlled cacophony, especially on standouts like “Heretic’s Fork” (*), “Murderer’s Row” and the devastating title track.

However, contrary to some lazy reporting you may read out there, the up-front bass figure introducing “Crossbreaker” is one of the few ingredients on hand that are remotely reminiscent of the hardcore/thrash crossover movement -- am I missing something?

No matter: frontman Gale’s desperate roar, though awash in echoed reverb, still got his embittered, socially conscious lyrics across on the eponymous “Power Trip” and “Conditioned to Death,” plus he really goes to town in condemning religious hypocrisy on “Drown,” and “The Hammer of Doubt.”

So why don’t you sit back, crank up the volume, let the music wash over you, and feel the ... POWER?

This, my young friends, is as close as you may get to experiencing the thrill and excitement felt by those of us who were lucky to be alive and musically sentient during thrash metal’s original 1980s heyday.

Because, for the briefest of moments, Power Trip successfully tapped into those nostalgic memories and emotions on Manifest Decimation, and they did an even better job on their stunning 2017 sophomore album, Nightmare Logic, if you ask me.

But that’s another blog ...

* This is a torture device, as it turns out -- see gruesome illustration overhead.

Ink experiments

Finally getting into the world of experimenting with the brushes on Krita. Here's practice doodles with Setar, Marmo, a childhood oc, and Violator from Spawn (I've never read it I just think he looks cool lol)