The band's 1988 "Socialized Hate" album is an underrated thrash classic. I went back to listen to it before reviewing their first album in 34 years. At 59 years of age, Brian Zimmerman is the only original member. His voice has held up pretty well, and carries the familiar narrative of their earlier work, though he has spent some time thinking about what he did on those albums, as the phrasing is more nuanced. The band Zimmerman gathered seemed to be session players on the fringes of the business, but they stepped up to this opportunity and proved themselves as capable as any thrash band.
"Seeds of Sorrow" carries plenty of grit and highlights how a band like Power Trip drew plenty of influence from the more underground thrash bands. Their riffing has plenty of crunch hooks to it and enough groove to band your head to, never giving into the temptation of laying on the speed to make it feel rushed. They allow things to breathe with melodic passages to provide needed dynamic shifts. It is not until "Bleeding Out" that they race into a more break speed, which is balanced out by an impressive groove. If they had rocked out like this in 1988 they would now be thought of in the same light as Testament.
Even songs like "American Dream" which might otherwise feel like filler, in comparison to some of this album's bolder moments, still rocks out better than most of the metal I have heard this year. There is actual singing going into "Close My Eyes". The verse riff to this song is a fucking ripper. They continue to bring like this on "the Apostle". The vocals do not carry the same purpose we heard from them in the last song, though the narrative is pretty clear. I will give this album a 9.5 and see how it grows on me, it is not perfect but perhaps better than what they did in the 80s.If you love thrash this album is a must.
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