Tag: Power Trip Nightmare Logic

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

With the release of 2017’s breakthrough album Nightmare Logic, the Dallas, TX-based metal act Power Trip — Riley Gale (vocals), Blake Ibanez (guitar), Chris Ulsh (drums), Nick Stewart (guitar) and Chris Whetzel (bass) — exploded into the national scene the album received breathless praise from The New Yorker and Pitchfork‘s Best New Music and NPR and landed number 1s on the best of/year-end lists of Rolling Stone, Billboard, Stereogum, AV Club, Bandcamp, LA Weekly, Spin, Vinyl Me Please, Dallas Observer and countless others. Adding to a huge year for the band, they were featured on the cover of Revolver and Decibel, received Best Metal Album of the Year from Loudwire and received song placement with the WWE.

Since the release of Nightmare Logic, the Dallas-based metal quintet have been touring relentlessly, headlining shows across North America, the European Union and Japan. The band recently announced the date and lineup for their second annual metal festival, Evil Beat and the festival, which will be held at South Side Ballroom on January 11, 2020 will feature Carcass, Vio-lence, Razor, Deafheaven, Sheer Mag, Drab Majesty, Prurient, Warthog, Torche, Wiccans, Red Death, True Widow, Special Interest, Mil Spec, Dress Code  — and of course, the night’s local heroes, the aforementioned Power Trip. This year will also a feature a kick-off the night before (details to come). Along with that “Hornet’s Nest,” which originally debuted as part of Adult Swim’s Single Series and has since become a fan favorite will finally see a digital and vinyl release. As for the single, it’s a headbanger’s delight — furiously howled vocals, scorching guitar riffs, thunderous drumming and mosh pit friendly hooks. And while sonically being indebted to Slayer and Metallica, Power Trip’s latest single catches them at their most ornery and explosive.

The members of Power Trip will be embarking on a fall co-headlining tour with High on Fire that includes a two night stay at Elsewhere — November 21, 2019 and November 2019. After their Evil Beat festival, the band will go on a lengthy spring UK and European run with Lamb of God and Kreator. Check out the tour dates below.

Tour  Dates: 

2019

10/12: Manchester, TN – Exit 111

11/03: Yogyakarta, ID – Jogjarockarta Festival

11/07: Austin, TX – Levitation at Mohawk #

11/09: San Antonio, TX – Paper Tiger #

11/10: Houston, TX – Foamhenge #

11/11: Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall

11/12: Tampa, FL – The Orpheum #

11/14: Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade #

11/15: Charlotte, NC – Amos’ Southend #

11/16: Richmond, VA – The Broadberry #

11/17: Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Sound Stage #

11/19: Philadelphia, PA – Union Transfer #

11/20: Asbury Park, NJ – Asbury Lanes #

11/21: Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere #

11/22: Brooklyn, NY – Elsewhere #

11/23: Hartford, CT – Webster Theatre #

11/24: Montreal, QC – Club Soda #

11/25: Toronto, ON – Danforth Music Hall #

11/26: Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre #

11/27: Chicago, IL – Metro #

11/29: Denver, CO – The Oriental Theater #

11/30: Salt Lake City, UT – Metro Music Hall #

12/02: Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre #

120/3: Seattle, WA – Neumos #

12/04: Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom #

12/06: Berkeley, CA – The UC Theatre #

12/07: Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater #

12/08: Santa Ana, CA – The Observatory #
# w/ High on Fire, Devil Master, Creeping Death

2020

01/11: Dallas, TX – Evil Beat Vol 2 at South Side Ballroom

02/02: Tokyo, JP – Liquid Room

03/27: Stockholm, SE – Fryshuset Arenan ^

03/28: Copenhagen, DK – Forum Black Box ^

03/30: Oulu, FI – Teatria ^

03/31: Helsinki, FI – Ice Hall Black Box ^

04/02: Kraków, PL – Tauron Arena ^

04/03: Berlin, DE – Columbiahalle ^

04/04: Oberhausen, DE – Turbinenhalle ^

04/05: Wiesbaden, DE – Schlachthof ^

04/07: Zurich, CH – Samsung Hall ^

04/08: Munich, DE – Zenith ^

04/09: Ludwigsburg, DE – MHP Arena ^

04/11: Hamburg, DE – Sporthalle ^

04/14: Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz ^

04/15: Madrid, ES – La Riviera ^

04/17: Paris, FR – L’Olympia ^

04/18: Saarbrücken, DE – Saarlandhalle ^

04/19: Brussels, BE – Ancienne Belgique ^

04/21: Bristol, UK – O2 Academy Bristol ^

04/22: Manchester, UK- Manchester Academy ^

04/23: Glasgow, UK – O2 Academy Glasgow ^

04/24: Birmingham, UK – O2 Academy Birmingham ^

^ w/ Lamb of God and Kreator

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Headbangers Ball-Inspired Sounds and Visuals of Power Trip’s “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)”

Comprised of Riley Gale, Blake Ibanez, Chris Ulsh, Nick Stewart and Chris Whetzel, the Dallas, TX-based metal quintet Power Trip have developed a reputation for a bruising sound that draws heavily from 80s and 90s heavy metal; in fact, “Firing Squad,” off their recently released Nightmare Logic is reminiscent of Slayer, Metallica Iron Maiden and even Motorhead; but with a subtly modern production sheen. And the album’s latest single, “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” continues on a similar, punishing vein as blistering cascades of power chords, propulsive and thundering drumming, howled lyrics and an emphasis on rousingly anthemic, mosh pit-friendly hooks.

Directed by Andy Capper, the recently released music video for the bruising “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” uses footage from a rowdy hometown show and cuts clips of warfare — including soldiers firing machine guns, bombs blowing up tanks, cars and other things, nuclear bomb tests and the stupid, orange-skinned face of blind, swaggering, Mussolini-like, new fascism. Reportedly, the visuals emphasize Gale’s furious lyrics, which focus on devaluation of human life by those who’ve gained immense power through money and politics, and while visually being reminiscent of the sorts of videos you’d see on Headbanger’s Ball.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: Dallas, TX’s Power Trip Returns with More Blistering, Hook-Laden Metal

Now, if you had stumbled on to this site towards the end of last year, you may recall that I wrote about Dallas, TX-based metal quintet Power Trip. Comprised of Riley Gale, Blake Ibanez, Chris Ulsh, Nick Stewart and Chris Whetzel, the Dallas-based quintet have developed a reputation for a sound that draws heavily from 80s metal, complete with similiar guitar pyrotechnics and thundering drumming. “Firing Squad,” off the quintet’s forthcoming album Nightmare Logic was a mosh pit worthy song that’s reminiscent of Slayer, Metallica and Iron Maiden; but with a modern production sheen. The album’s latest single “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)” continues on a similar vein as blistering cascades of power chords, propulsive and thundering drumming and howled lyrics while possessing a subtly modern production sheen –with what sounds like a bit of twinkling piano, just under the surface; but perhaps more important, both singles off the band’s forthcoming album reveal an emphasis on crafting incredibly tight and anthemic hooks while expressing a contemporary sense of complete hopelessness in everything. After all, things do seem increasingly bleak.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

Comprised of Riley Gale, Blake Ibanez, Chris Ulsh, Nick Stewart and Chris Whetzel, the Dallas, TX-based metal quintet Power Trip have developed a reptuation for a sound that draws heavily from 80s metal, complete with similiar guitar pyrotechnics and thundering drumming. And “Firing Squad,” the latest single off the band’s Nightmare Logic, their forthcoming album slated for a February 24, 2017 through Southern Lord Records, will futher cement their growing reptuation for pairing blistering and explosive riffs with thunderous, insistent drumming and howled vocals — in a mosh pit worthy song that sounds as though it draws from Slayer, Metallica and Iron Maiden; but with a modern production sheen.

With the release of”Firing Squad,” the Dallas-based metal quintent announced the first leg of a North American tour to support Nightmare Logic — and it includes a March 3, 2017 NYC area stop at The Marlin Room at Webster Hall. Check out the rest of the tour dates below.

 

Tour Dates:
1/4: RBC – Dallas, TX ^
1/5: Barracuda – Austin, TX ^
2/24: Walter’s – Houston, TX *
2/25: Siberia – New Orleans, LA *
2/26: Saturn – Birmingham, AL *
2/27: Kings – Raleigh, NC *
2/28: Broadberry – Richmond, VA *
3/1: Soundstage – Baltimore, MD *
3/2: Webster Hall’s Marlin Room – New York, NY *
3/3: Spirit – Pittsburgh, PA *
3/4: Now That’s Class – Cleveland, OH *
3/8: Les Foufounes Électriques – Montreal, QC *
3/9: Brass Monkey – Ottawa, ON *
3/10: Velvet Underground – Toronto, ON *
3/11: Marble Bar – Detroit, MI *
3/12: Reggie’s – Chicago, IL *
3/13: Triple Rock – Minneapolis, MN *
3/14: Vaudeville Mews – Des Moines, IA *
3/16: Riot Room – Kansas City, MO *
3/17: 89th Street Collective – Oklahoma City, OK *
3/25 – 3/26: South by So What? – Dallas, TX
3/31 – 4/2: Tacoma Hardcore Fest – Tacoma, WA #
^ – w/ Antwon 
* – w/ Iron Reagan 
2/27 – 3/1 – w/ Genocide Pact
2/28 – 3/4 – w/ Concealed Blade 
3/2 – w/ Krimewatch 
3/3 – 3/4 – w/ Protestor 
# – w/ Destruction Unit and Primal Rite