Power Trip Bring Chaos to The Velvet Underground

Texan thrashers Power Trip are currently on tour in the States with Exodus and Obituary, but lucky for us metal fans here in Toronto, they returned to The Velvet Underground for an off date show on Monday, September 25th, 2017. It’s not like we really needed luck to see Power Trip though, they were here back in March opening up for Iron Reagan, right after the release of their sophomore album Nightmare Logic but, Monday night's headlining show was the dose of chaos we’ve been waiting for.

The energy before the show was electric, the moods were high, and the fans were ready to dominate the pit. To get straight to the point, this show was INSANE. I swear, fans started moshing and stage diving when only the fog and lights were dimmed. As the main riff of “Soul Sacrifice” kicked in to start the show, it was pure anarchy from there on. No one even remotely close to the stage was left unscathed from the fists, elbows, and flying bodies.

Vocalist Riley Gale made a point to call out Toronto being one of their favourite cities to be in, which is why they made the trek up just for this show on their day off from another tour. He was on a mission to bring us an intense, fast-paced show, but it was sick to hear him take a minute to tell us how rad he thinks we are as a city. On top of that, he gave us a treat and the band performed “Crossbreaker” off 2013’s Manifest Decimation, which he noted that they’re not playing on their current tour.

The fans were psycho, the band was gripping to say the least, and the setlist was dreamy (in a dark, desolate, nightmarish way).

Warning: It’s recommended not to listen to Power Trip while viewing the photos above. You may feel inclined to hardcore kick through your computer screen or erratically start moshing and smash your phone.

Words / Photography by: Steve St. Jean

**All photos © Beyond The Watch. Do not use or reproduce w/o permission**