Ripping Crossover Thrash: Power Trip’s “Manifest Decimation”

I’d never heard of Power Trip until I saw them perform at SXSW this past March. The band’s frenetic rooftop set on the festival’s opening night induced a mosh pit so fierce that the venue had to cut short their set about halfway through, causing the venue to completely empty out immediately. The band’s razor-sharp, crossover thrash attack turned the heads of even the most jaded metalheads in the room <cough>. Now I’m a fan, all-in.

Stream the title track from their forthcoming record Manifest Decimation (June 11, Southern Lord) over at Pitchfork to get a taste of what I’m talking about.

Having never heard this band before on record I’m a bit taken aback by the reverb-saturated production and gigantic, booming snare. Thrash records these days are uniformly recorded clean n’ dry, so the band had to be making a conscious, deliberate choice to go in the complete opposite direction. Perhaps they’re trying to set themselves apart from the Warbringers and Bonded by Bloods and Gama Bombs and Havoks and on and on and on of today’s re-thrash scene. I’m not sure it suits them well, though, because the auditory wetness makes the band sound loose, and one of the most impressive things about seeing this band live was how friggin’ tight they were. But I say “I’m not sure” not in a sarcastic manner meaning “I am sure it doesn’t work,” but to express that I really am not sure; maybe it’ll grow on me.