By: Michael Ruhl
CHICAGO– On May 6th, powerful Thrash Metal group Power Trip took the stage at Chicago’s famous venue, Metro, to crush through songs that had not been heard live in years. Power Trip has a new lead singer Seth Gilmore, from the Houston hardcore band Skourge and Fort Worth thrash band Fugitive. Power Trip’s music combines the breakdowns of hardcore with the speed of heavy metal with fluent ease.
In August 2020, Power Trip’s lead singer and main songwriter, Riley Gale, passed away, which left metal without one of its most innovative and fresh voices. Power Trip had been very successful in the hands of Gale, directing them towards Metal stardom with their sound that combined styles of Texas Hardcore with metal, referencing Big 4 Thrash Legends Slayer and Metallica. What made Power Trip so exciting was the combination of hardcore ethos and trained metal chops, making them sound completely new. Riley’s passing made the band’s next steps difficult as they wanted to honor his message of resistance while also pushing forward. The decision to begin touring with Gilmore makes a lot of sense, as Gilmore was a close contemporary with the band in the Texas metal and hardcore scenes. Gilmore can replicate the voice of the incomparable Riley Gale, unlike any others.
The Metro was definitely a test for the band’s new lineup as this was one of their first major U.S city shows since reuniting without Riley Gale. The band has been touring Europe rampantly with Gilmore so they had already gained a familiarity with the new singer before taking the stage in Chicago.
Power Trip opened with “Soul Sacrifice,” the first track off their 2017 studio album “Nightmare Logic” and it was immediately raucous inside the Metro. “Soul Sacrifice” is a perfect example of the band’s focus equally on metal and hardcore as the winding guitars and screaming vocals make for an instantly iconic track.
Power Trip became synonymous with the Marshall style distortion used on stage and their guitar players Nick Stewart and Blake Ibanez are very talented in making simplistic and catchy riffs as heavy as can be. The setlist also featured the instant classic 2018 track “Hornets Nest,” which is rageful and speedy, with Gale’s lyrics crushing. Gilmore took Gale’s rage and emulated it very well on stage. “Hornets Nest” is one of the better Power Trip tracks for it’s sense of crushing speed, which took their thrash metal sound to the next level.
The setlist at Chicago’s Metro venue featured a lot of deep cut tracks that had not been played on the European tour. Power Trip only released 2 studio albums in their time as a band so diving deeper into their bag of tricks was great to see. The band played tracks like “Divine Apprehension” and “Suffer No Fool” which were some of the best Power Trip tracks not featured on a studio album. Giving justice to the deep cuts was awesome as it allows for even more of Gale’s lyrics to be immortalized. The band was incredibly tight, and it was great to see them re-unite under a new singer.
Power Trip closed the set with “Manifest Decimation,” which was the title track off their 2013 debut studio album, before coming back for an encore and playing an Iron Age cover, and then transitioning into closing with “Crossbreaker” off “Manifest Decimation.”
Power Trip’s music will go down as instantly classic due to Gale’s rage and lyricism being no-holds-barred and in-your-face. The purpose of these recent reuniting sets is to immortalize his voice and the band on stage honored Riley whenever they could. While there is a shadow cast by Riley’s absence, the band continues to honor his legacy with great performances. Gilmore, as a Texas contemporary, is a great choice to fill his shoes as his voice fits perfectly into the mold Gale left. The band honored the legacy of Gale with a great performance at the Metro, adding to the immense metal legacy of Power Trip.
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