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  • Ludichrist - Powertrip

    Ludichrist - Powertrip
    1988 Combat Records

    review

Ludichrist - Powertrip

1988 Combat Records :: Reviewed by rofreason on 2005-09-09

Here's where it really came together. Replacing 3 of the 5 band members from Immaculate Deception, the boys here are infused with straight metal man Paul Nieder (he had ling hair for Pete's Sake!) and skinsman from hell Dave Miranda. And as much as the complicated thrash metal riffs take hold here, it's Miranda's absolutely insane drum performance that was mind blowing to me back then and now. The guy must have ingested mass caffeine in the studio to just go for it as he did. One noticable factor on the previous album was that the shifts in structure and style that the band were known for felt a bit stiff, with stops and starts between the sections. This is not felt here, mostly due to Miranda's ability to play all styles with grace and make the transitions seamless. And the shifts are everywhere, riff upon riff just flowing from Glen and Paul. This really is an amazing album, songs longer here and more fully realized. The political/social lyrics are replaced by sillier slices of life (This Party Sucks) but the whole album has such a feel good party atmosphere that it makes sense. I saw them on this tour and the energy that came from these guys was infectious, and it was obvious that the were having FUN playing this stuff, especially Miranda, who would literally jump all around his hit (as well as having a sweet ass ROCKTAGON!!!!).

Another excellent Combat reissue, Powertrip is indeed a seminal metalcore release, melding the myriad of styles into a thrash soup made to perfection by 5 guys that knew their instruments and just what to do with them. Go buy it.