It is now coming up to three years since the tragic passing of Power Trip frontman, Riley Gale. A true performer and metal legend from the beginning of the musical career till the end. Acting as both a testament and memory capsule to Gale’s memory and legacy comes a live album from the band’s vault from 2018, deep into the band touring the seminal Nightmare Logic. 

Undoubtedly, this will be a bittersweet listen, but an important one nonetheless.

Rather than meriting the release by the quality of the sounds and themes behind the music themselves (seeing as Power Trip had already perfected it back in 2017), this will be looking to see how well the snapshot recordings into the stage show of the band encapsulates the mayhem and chaos that was present at every single power trip show. 

Opening with Manifest Decimation’s ‘Drown’ is the perfect song to get you in the mood and put you into the atmosphere of a Power Trip show. Straight from the moment Gale barks down the microphone, you are no longer at home listening in through your earphones, you’re in Seattle, centrestage, ready to see one of the best upcoming thrash bands. 

Not losing a second of momentum, the thrash outfit launch headfirst into the opening track to Opening Fire, ‘Divine Apprehension’. The cacophony of the animalistic vocals and a chugging canter beating of guitars invites pure carnage in the pits. It’ll take a lot of willpower to hold yourself from launching yourself at the walls of your home. 

Power Trip waste no time at all, getting to the heart of what made their live performances stand out from the rest. Releasing an onslaught of the hits like ‘Soul Sacrifice’ and ‘Executioner’s Tax’ It is transparently clear how the band were able to rise through the ranks of the thrash and by extension, the metal scene as a whole. Such proficiently harnessed fury in the rhythm of the guitar and drums pounding away as Gale barks down the microphone with the anger of a vengeful god. 

It’s with the accompanying sounds of both audience and backup vocals on ‘Executioners Tax’ that truly brings the song out into the live setting, elevating what could be one of the best thrash metal songs of the past decade to a whole new level.

It’s listening to these time capsules of memories and shows gone by that truly paint a much fuller portrait of those we have lost. It’s important that we have these testaments of the power, the leadership, and the figure Riley Gale was in the thrash scene for all those years. Live in Seattle (Southern Lord) illustrates this perfectly. He was taken way too soon, but the memories of the music and the performances will be kept alive for decades or even centuries to come.

Rest In Peace, Riley Gale.

Buy the album here:

https://powertripsl.bandcamp.com/album/live-in-seattle-05-28-2018

9 / 10

CHARLIE HILL