Power Trip, Nightmare Logic (2017) A Review

Power Trip, Nightmare Logic (2017) A Review

By: Ghost Writer

Rock N Roll Animal

A Beautiful Wall…made of riffs is quickly put on display on rabid opener Soul Sacrifice, as Power Trip quickly turns on high gear, the band primitive drumming immediately sets the pace as ascending crazed guitar solos that remind Slayer 80s axe histrionics are introduced into the piece, no wonder we might be in front of one of the most advanced heirs to Slayer´s wonderful 80s legacy, the conviction of the USA classic Thrash Metal band is admirable, as this slowly grinding piece is able to open holes into the brain and then exploding all over with superb grace, at times they also remind me of the great 90s band Exhorder from Louisiana, another band that made it difficult to find the limit between Thrash and Death Metal, as they sound like masters in the complex art of creating constant tension suffocated by a healthy dose of more contemporary sludge, next song, Executioner's Tax (could it be a reference to Trump's Border Adjustment Tax?) goes again directly to classic Thrash Metal mayhem, a perfectly locked groove that seduces you into headbanging, if you remember what that was about, as we are faced by the most deranged descendants of classic Thrash metal bands like Slayer, Kreator and Nuclear Assault, bands somehow perfectly suited for this times, but here, represented by this band who seem like the perfect bridge between classic Thrash Metal and derivate genres like Death Metal or Grindcore.

For Firing Squad, there´s a sublime all-out attack, the band abandoning all fancy arrangements for pure glorious primitive attack, crushing drums and guitars moving at prodigious speed, ultra-dry guitars remind me of some of the early Napalm Death records, but here they are somehow more technical and used in a more creative way, a succession of amazing riffs that rock with grace above the chaotic sound this band can create all over, and when all things finally arrive to the proper place at the same time the results are beyond impressive like on the title track, perhaps the best piece on the record, with the band rocking all over with singular cadence, reminding us of how much fun Thrash Metal was all about in the beginning with bands like Exodus, even taking things to the time when even Metallica was one of the coolest bands on earth on Waiting Around to Die (with its John Carpenter like intro), a song influenced by the progressive leanings of Metallica circa the groundbreaking Ride The Lightning, following this line of the almost For Whom The Bells Toll like intro to Ruination, with its great in and out dazzling guitars and venom spilling vocals.

Great compact riffs are immediately set in motion on an another great piece wonderfully named If Not Us Then Who, a piece that wouldn’t sound strange on early Metallica or Exodus repertories, at times going into the more aggressive attitude of the great early Teutonic Thrash Metal kings Kreator (although Kreator as heard on their latest album has evolved from that wild anarchic early sound), perhaps the biggest mistake made by Power Trip is trying at times too much in making a kind of hypnotic album like Metallica or Exhorder where able to create once, their grooves are perfect but they insist a little too much on the tension side, when they simply thrash like crazy as heard on the galloping closer Crucifixation is when we are able to feel the best of this young band that seems to be carrying effortlessly the worthy weight of their Thrash Metal ancestors, Power Trip are without a doubt one of the best new Thrash Metal bands all around, capable of standing tall and proud among what seems to be a revival of the genre with powerful comebacks by Thrash best like Metallica, Testament, Overkill and Kreator, within the crème de la crème of Thrash Metal, this Nightmare Logic, despite the young age of its authors, is a force to be reckoned with.