Power Trip

Messiah – Christus Hypercubus Review

By Mystikus Hugebeard on February 27, 2024 in Reviews, Death Metal, Thrash Metal, 30 comments

“Formed in 1984, their first two albums—1985’s Hymn to Abramelin and 1986’s Extreme Cold Weather—have been cited as classics of the proto-death/thrash era, before they split up in 1995. Messiah then stepped through time to their reformation in 2018 into a far more convoluted world of metal, thanks to the ever-increasing emphasis on sub-genres, trends, and streaming. Messiah’s response was to ignore all that hubbub, holding fast to their aggression of yore as they released the well-received comeback album Fracmont in 2020. 2022 unfortunately saw the untimely passing of Messiah’s original vocalist Andy Kaina, but an undeterred Messiah pressed on and are now set to dish out another beating in the form of Christus Hypercubus.” New age Messiah.

Colony Drop – Brace for Impact Review

By Felagund on September 4, 2023 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 32 comments

“According to Colony Drop’s Bandcamp page, the band’s motto is “High Speed, Twin Lead.” This isn’t just a promise that gets my heart all aflutter; it’s also an honest declaration. Time and time again, you’ll hear this maxim take mighty musical form on Brace for Impact, often to crushing effect.” Space must be colonized!

Trastorned – Into the Void Review

By Dr. Wvrm on January 27, 2023 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 36 comments

“Wheat dies fast; chaff lives on forever. What that means for thrash, I don’t know, because that genre will relive the good ole days until the barn burns down. I also don’t know what that means for Trastorned. The Chilean quartet have spent 15 years working out the perfect homage to the genre with their debut, Into the Void. It’s mean. It’s fast. It sounds exactly how you want it to sound. But those three points mean little these days, and it will take so much more for these thrashers to survive the thresher.” Harvest tunes.

Algebra – Chiroptera Review

By Holdeneye on September 19, 2022 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 51 comments

“Ask most folks around the world to describe Swiss culture in a word, and I’d bet that “precise” ends up in the top ten most common responses. Switzerland is known for producing precision-made watches, cutlery, and chocolates, and thanks to Coroner’s technical version of the genre, we can probably add precision-made thrash metal to the list. And if we want to emphasize that last point, we need look no further than Swiss thrashers Algebra.” Fast maths.

Misfire – Sympathy for the Ignorant Review

By Holdeneye on April 12, 2022 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 41 comments

“Sympathy for the Ignorant is ten tracks and 38 minutes of groove-centric thrash metal. Misfire’s sound walks the line between pure thrash and crossover and really doesn’t care which side of the line you want it to stage-dive into. I hear similarities to some of the big-name crossover bands like Enforced and Power Trip.” Thrash til dive.

Rot Away – Nothing is Good Review

By Felagund on August 9, 2021 in Reviews, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, 20 comments

“It’s not controversial to say I miss shows. And while it seems there was a brief window where venues were opening back up, it looks like the next opportunity to catch an honest-to-god show won’t be until 2036, when each ticket comes with a complimentary hazmat suit. One thing that has increased my yearning for concerts over the past year and a half isn’t just the pandemic-induced down-tuned drought; it’s also reviewing bands that I know would be an absolute blast to catch live. Even if the score wasn’t particularly high, I can concede just how fun it would be to see that same band tear things up in person. Such is the case with Nothing is Good, the first album from Denmark-based metallic hardcore heathens Rot Away.” Aggressively rotting in a sick world.

Crawling Manifest – Radical Absolution Review

By Holdeneye on May 14, 2021 in Reviews, Groove Metal, Thrash Metal, 15 comments

“I hate to admit it, but I laughed when I first saw the name Crawling Manifest. I immediately had images of babies presenting documentation of the dangerous cargo held within their diapers as they crawl from one location to another pop into my head, and once I saw those images, they were impossible to unsee. My apologies to the band for this, but the strange mind does what the strange mind will do. Radical Absolution is the sophomore record from these Maryland thrashers, coming by way of self-release.” The Manifest is destiny.

Enforced – Kill Grid Review

By Holdeneye on March 12, 2021 in Reviews, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, 92 comments

“Oh man, have I been excited to get my hands on this one. In 2019, I happened upon the promo for At the Walls, the debut record from Richmond, Virginia crossover thrash act Enforced. The album was a combination of previously-released demo and EP tracks with some newer material, and while this may have resulted in some minor consistency issues, that thing riffed hard, riffed often, and barely missed my 2019 year-end list. The thought of a follow-up record written in one, cohesive go was tantalizing, and my excitement only grew when I heard that Enforced was picked up by Century Media last year. But at the same time, when a raw, passionate band moves to a bigger label, I always get a bit nervous.” Dying on the grid.

Plague Years – Circle of Darkness Review

By Holdeneye on September 17, 2020 in Reviews, Hardcore, Thrash Metal, 52 comments

“Plague Years dole out Slayer grooves with hardcore vocals just like every other modern crossover band, but the beef levels have been turned up to 11 by down-tuning the guitars and adding some death metal elements. If Power Trip is the classic, lean and mean Greek god physique of crossover, Plague Years is the modern-day, steroid-saturated Mr. Olympia.” Circle of power.

Psychosomatic – The Invisible Prison Review

By Dr. A.N. Grier on September 6, 2020 in Reviews, Thrash Metal, 6 comments

“It feels like only yesterday when you all hated me for giving such high praise to Crisix’s 2018 release, Against the Odds. I understand that everyone thinks Power Trip is god and everyone is getting tired of the Havok/Warbringer sound, so thrash is getting more and more difficult to get into these days. Thrash, with a modern touch, is even harder as it all seems to sound rehashed and repetitive. I’m not sorry I love the fun and upbeat character of Crisix. I’m not sorry ‘Perseverance’ and ‘Xenomorph Blood’ make me lose my shit. I’m not sorry Against the Odds made my list that year. I’m not sorry for my love of thrash. I’m not sorry for having such an exquisite taste. I’m not sorry for anything. OK… I am sorry you’re so dead inside that you can’t enjoy fun things. I’m also sorry for this: thrash veterans Psychosomatic and their newest release, The Invisible Prison.” No regrats.