News that Power Trip will reform for this year’s No Values festival (which features an absurdly stacked lineup) can’t help but be met with mixed feelings for many longtime fans of the band. While, on the one hand, it’s great they have decided to keep their music alive and persevere despite Riley Gale’s death, it goes without saying that his untimely and tragic passing will no doubt cast a long shadow over the new incarnation of the band. Here’s hoping their new singer Seth Gilmore (current lead singer of the Power Trip offshoot Fugitive) is up to the challenge, as he will certainly have some pretty big shoes to fill.
Riley was a one-of-a-kind dude, as evidenced by this unique performance at the House of Strombo (which is practically the only venue where you can command an audience to “mosh in the kitchen!”). In addition to being a formidable metal vocalist, he was also a great human being, down-to-earth, warm, thoughtful, with an affable sense of humor to boot. Power Trip was an awesome band, probably the best metal band of the past decade for this writer’s money, so the fact they’re reforming should ultimately be cause for celebration. Riley certainly set a high bar though, which is emphatically demonstrated in this killer performance. R.I.P. Riley, and cheers to a new chapter for Power Trip.
