By Avinash Mittur
When the thrash revival (or “re-thrash” as I’ve seen it called as of late) was at its peak, the new bands seemed eager to jack the riffs, fashion and social priorities (i.e. ‘fuck the posers!’) of the Bay Area legends like Exodus and Testament, and march through the brutal musical territory carved out by the likes of Kreator and Sodom. The crossover thrash movement was something that not even new bands dared to return to though. Acts like D.R.I., Dr. Know, and Stormtroopers of Death seemed forever contained in their own time bubble, only having their legacy kept alive through live shows and having their logos slapped on patch jackets. Dallas, TX’s Power Trip are a truly special bunch of dudes then. Their debut record on Southern Lord Recordings, Manifest Decimation, is a confident and rabid burst of vintage crossover released in a time when no one seems to want to mess with that sound. It’s a promising entry into the metal world for this young band, and it’ll satisfy anyone who’s gotten bored with the sounds that the millions of thrash kiddies have played to death.
More often than not, the crossover acts of old were punk bands that became skilled at their instruments as their careers progressed. They played hardcore punk because they had to, and when their skill grew they began to play metal. This evolution was never as obvious as it was with D.R.I., who grew from the glorious mess of Dealing With It! to the headbanger’s ball of Thrash Zone. Power Trip are a bit weird in that regard. Manifest Decimation already shows off a very solid level of musical proficiency- Blake Ibanez and Nick Stewart are happy to rip short solos throughout the record, and their rhythm playing is frequently tight and at times, astoundingly badass. Right away, the title track gives away what Power Trip really is. This is a metal band playing hardcore punk out of desire, not necessity. The result is a bunch of songs that are actually pretty long by crossover standards, about three to four minutes each. The benefit is that the riffs are given plenty of time to show off their worth, and the chugs will allow for ample headbanging time live.
The sharp and complex riffing of ‘Conditioned to Death’ is another cue that Power Trip are better at their instruments than they let on, though the band tries to hide their skill under a production that’s anything but subtle. The drums sound like they were mic’ed up in an abandoned warehouse, while lead hollerer Riley Gale screams like he’s trapped at the bottom of a well. Quite literally actually, as the heavy reverb slathered all over his vocals make it sound like he is trapped in a cavernous space far, far away. The gang vocals during ‘Murderer’s Row’ receive a similar treatment, dulling what should be a sharp impact in an otherwise crushing track. The guitars are nice and dirty; when it comes to modern thrash, Manifest Decimation has some of the most gamey and potent guitar tones around. That being said, the raw production gives the tracks an artificially sloppy feel, when in reality the performances are anything but. The production as a whole is an interesting yet flawed experiment- if Power Trip really want that vintage crossover sound, maybe they’ll consider knocking on Bill Metoyer or Alex Perialas’s door for album number two.
Now that the engineering is out of the way, we can get to the songs. These tracks are quite honestly, some of the most primal and savage pieces of modern thrash I have heard in a good while. The bouncing d-beat drive of ‘Drown’ has pit-ready written all over it, while ‘Heretic’s Fork’ features the kind of breakneck intensity that can’t be stitched together with Pro Tools. The songs do blend together rather quickly, but Manifest Decimation is so short that you don’t even get the chance to get sick of the music. The title track and ‘Conditioned to Death’ are the immediate highlights, while ‘Power Trip’ impresses with hardcore gang shouts, some short and snappy soloing and cannon-fire drums from Chris Ulsh in its second half. Every one of the tracks on Manifest Decimation are heavy hitters, and they don’t give the listener any opportunity to catch a breath. When it comes to thrash metal music, I can’t think of a higher compliment.
Manifest Decimation is a breath of fresh air in a genre that had been taken to a pretty logical extreme over twenty years ago. The songs are more accomplished than usually seen in this genre, but there’s still some work to be done. Since the band lacks the snotty sense of fun and humor that D.R.I. and S.O.D. embraced, they’re left to win us over with no-nonsense thrashing. The subsequent aggression and fury is perfect supply, but Power Trip seem intent on taking a walloping groove to its fullest extent in every song, when sometimes a hooky riff would have really sold the track. Not to mention, there’s nothing on this album that can’t be found on plenty of classic records released in the mid to late ’80s, the caveman-like production included. These are notable, yet somewhat small flaws against an album that really is a solid debut for this young band though. Manifest Decimation more than gets the job done for thrash fans looking for sounds rarely mined in recent years, and it’s a kickass start to what looks to be a punishing heavy metal career.
Note: The cover artwork by Paolo Girardi deserves a mention. Simply put, this is some of the most outstanding art I have seen on a metal album, especially a thrash album, in a very long time and it fits the mood and feel of the music perfectly. If you’re planning on picking up Manifest Decimation, do your eyes a favor and grab a copy on vinyl.
Rating: 7.5/10
Record Label: Southern Lord Recordings
Release Date: June 11th, 2013
Track Listing:
1. Manifest Decimation
2. Heretic’s Fork
3. Conditioned to Death
4. Murderer’s Row
5. Crossbreaker
6. Drown
7. Power Trip
8. The Hammer of Doubt
Links:
facebook.com/powertripTX
twitter.com/PowerTripTX
powertriptx.tumblr.com
powertriptx.bandcamp.com