
Power Trip are a crossover thrash metal band from Dallas, Texas. Their sound — an inseparable mix of hardcore punk, speed, and death metal — was informed by the sounds of the Cro-Mags, Vio-Lence, Nuclear Assault, and Leeway, and draws fans from across the extreme music spectrum.
The band began as a five-piece in Dallas, Texas in 2008. Their initial lineup consisted of bassist Chris Whetzel, drummer Marcus, vocalist Riley Gale, and guitarists Blake “Rossover” Ibanez, and Nicky “Thrasher” Stewart. They released a collection of five demos that same year. In 2009 Marcus left and was eventually replaced by veteran Chris Ulsh (Hatred Surge, Mammoth Grinder, the Impalers). They released a four-song EP entitled Armageddon Blues. They also began touring, first throughout Texas, then the Southwest and California, and then nationally. Usually, in addition to the band and their gear, an extended voluntary entourage would travel with them — often in the same van — to help with hauling gear, working the merchandise table and the box office, etc. After non-stop touring for nearly a year, and a well-deserved break (in which Ibanez went away to school), Power Trip recorded a self-titled three-song EP, which was released in 2011, before more touring, including an appearance at the 2012 Pitchfork Music Festival.
Manifest Decimation In 2013, PT signed with Southern Lord, and made a splash with their showcase at SXSW. They commenced recording their debut full-length with veteran producer and mixing engineer Arthur Rizik. The album was released in June of that year as Manifest Decimation, with a sleeve design by legendary heavy metal artist Paolo Girardi.
A tear in the firmament.
Beyond the noxious haze of our national nightmare – as structures of social justice and global progress topple in our midst – there lies a faint but undeniable glow in the distance.
What is it?
Like so many before us we are drawn to the beacon. But only by the bootstraps of our indignation do we go so boldly into the dark to find it.
And so Sheer Mag has let the sparks fly since their outset, with an axe to grind against all that clouds the way. A caustic war cry, seething in solidarity with all those that suffer the brunt of ignorance and injustice in an imbalanced system.
Both brazen and discrete, loud yet precise, familiar but never quite like this – SHEER MAG crept up from Philadelphia cloaked in bold insignia to channel our social and political moment with grit and groove. Cautious but full of purpose.
What is it?
By making a music both painfully urgent and spiritually timeworn, SHEER MAG speak to a modern pain: to a people that too feel their flame on the verge of being extinguished, yet choose to burn a bit brighter in spite of that threat.
With their debut LP, the cloak has been lifted. It is time to reclaim something that has been taken from us. Here the band rolls up their sleeves, takes to the streets, and demands recompense for a tradition of inequity that’s poisoned our world. However, it is in our ability to love – our primal human right to give and receive love – that the damage of such toxicity is newly explored.
Love is a choice we make. We ought not obscure, neglect, or deny that choice. Through the tumult and the pain, the camaraderie and the cause, the band continues to burn a path into that great beyond.
But where are we headed?
On NEED TO FEEL YOUR LOVE, they makes their first full-length declaration of light seen just beyond our darkness. Spoken plainly, without shame:
It is love.
This – is SHEER MAG.
Street parking is available along Lincoln Ave and on the surrounding streets. Valet parking will be available for select shows in the future. Check back for more info.