Power Trip Show Review (2017-03-08)

We were supposed to have an interview with Dallas, Texas’ thrash metal warriors, Power Trip, but, as is far too often the case, there was an issue at the border with their touring partners, Iron Reagan, and the bands only made it to the venue with time to set up and get on stage (at least that’s how we’re assessing the situation). C’mon Canada, get your act together and realize that these smaller bands are nose-to-the-grindstone blue-collar workers just trying to earn a dollar and when you detain them you jeopardize their livelihood.

While the interview didn’t happen, we were there for the show, which was insane, but that is the way it goes at Montreal’s Foufounes Electriques (Foufs). This venue, which is actually a small stage upstairs from the bar, might be the last vestige in Montreal dedicated to letting metalheads be metalheads, where stage dives aren’t just accepted but encouraged, where the pit (in a closed space with hard floors and structural supports nearby) gets wild and violent, where the soundboard gets bumped and pushed an inch here and an inch there.

After two warm up bands plus Iron Reagan, which was actually a ragtag group of stand-in band members (remember the border holdup) playing with no practice and killing it, Power Trip opened strong with their thrash metal heritage on full display. Kicking off their set were the first two tracks from their newly released album, Nightmare Logic, “Soul Sacrifice” and “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe).” These tracks got the crowd into a frenzy before breaking into a mix of tracks from the band’s EPs and previous album, Manifest Decimation.

What I really like about Power Trip is that they are a band with no frills; you see what you get. Listen to their album, it’s tight; see them live, they’re tight. If it’s the music you love, it’s the music you get. Vocalist Riley Gale also commands the stage with a Texas-size swagger and confidence that commands respect. It’s almost like watching a young Phil Anselmo in his early years with Pantera.

If there’s one small show to see, you have to make it Power Trip.

Rock Hard \m/