Nightmare Logic

Nightmare Logic
Studio album by
Power Trip
ReleasedFebruary 24, 2017
Studio
  • Creep Records, Philadelphia
  • The Echo Lab, Argyle[1]
Genre
Length32:51
LabelSouthern Lord (LORD236)
ProducerArthur Rizk
Power Trip chronology
Manifest Decimation
(2013) 		Nightmare Logic
(2017) 		Opening Fire: 2008–2014
(2018)

Nightmare Logic is the second studio album by American thrash metal band Power Trip. It was released on February 24, 2017 through Southern Lord Records and was met with critical acclaim.[2] This marked the second collaboration with producer Arthur Rizk, having previously worked with Rizk on their debut album Manifest Decimation (2013). This is the last Power Trip studio album to feature vocalist Riley Gale before he died on August 24, 2020.[3]

Nightmare Logic was well-received by both critics and fans, and was responsible for bringing Power Trip to the attention of a mainstream metal audience. Critics praised its raw intensity, powerful riffs, as well as the band's growth in songwriting. It has appeared on a number of critics' lists ranking the year's top metal albums, as well as lists ranking the top metal albums of the decade.[4][5]

Overview

[edit]

Nightmare Logic was produced by Arthur Rizk and released via record label Southern Lord.[6][7] Critics have described their sound as thrash metal, hardcore punk, and crossover thrash.[8][7][9]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
Classic Rock[10]
Exclaim!9/10[11]
musicOMH[8]
Pitchfork8.4/10[6]
PopMatters[12]
The Quietus[7]
Record Collector[13]
Rock Sound7/10[14]

Nightmare Logic was met with critical acclaim. The album received an average score of 86/100 from 10 reviews on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim".[2] Branan Ranjanathan of Exclaim! praised the album, writing, "Nightmare Logic showcases Power Trip at their strongest yet, and packs its 30-minute runtime with songs that push everything they have done right so far to an entirely new level."[11] Writing for The Quietus, Louise Brown said, "This is no retro throwback, Power Trip have poured their genuine, obsessive love of early thrash, but also Cro-Mags, Prong and Black Flag to create a boiling pot of modern metal mastery."[7]

Loudwire named Nightmare Logic as the best metal album of the year, as well as proclaiming Power Trip to be 2017's breakout metal band. The publication would praise the album's intensity, speed, and its tight production, writing "Arthur Rizk's production is entrenched in the old school with raw tones and organic drum sounds that bring the messages condemning power, corruption and greed to the street level. This year belongs to Power Trip and as they boldly declared at the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards, "'Watch out old timers, we're here.'"[15] "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" was awarded Best Metal Song at the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards.[16]

In a positive review, Zoe Camp from Pitchfork wrote "Power Trip embody a platonic ideal of heavy metal escapism. With more focus on detail, the Dallas thrashers push their second LP over the edge, balancing modern intricacy and old-school aggression."[17] Richard Beinstock wrote for Rolling Stone in a year-end review "Nightmare Logic gathers the band's source material – hardcore, punk and plenty of Eighties speed metal – and distills it into sharply focused and hooky aggo-blasts." Rolling Stone would go on to name Nightmare Logic the 11th best metal album of the year.[18]

Accolades

[edit]
Year Publication Country Accolade Rank Ref.
2017 Exclaim! Canada "Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums" 2 [19]
2017 Loudwire United States "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017" 1 [20]
2017 PopMatters United States "The Best Metal of 2017" 12 [21]
2017 Revolver United States "20 Best Albums of 2017" 2 [22]
2017 Rolling Stone United States "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017" 11 [23]
2017 Loudwire United States "Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums of All Time" 43 [24]
2019 MetalSucks United States "The 25 Best Metal Albums Of 2010-2019" 6 [25]
2019 Vice Media United States "The 100 Best Albums Of The 2010s" 4 [26]

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2021 Grammy Awards "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe) (Live)" Best Metal Performance Nominated [27]
2017 Loudwire Music Awards Nightmare Logic Best Metal Album Nominated [28]
Loudwire Music Awards "Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)" Best Metal Song Won [29]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Soul Sacrifice"4:12
2."Executioner's Tax (Swing of the Axe)"3:46
3."Firing Squad"3:19
4."Nightmare Logic"4:23
5."Waiting Around to Die"4:24
6."Ruination"3:11
7."If Not Us Then Who"4:11
8."Crucifixation"5:22
Total length:32:51

Personnel

[edit]

Personnel adapted from CD liner notes.[1]

Charts

[edit]
Chart Peak
position
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[30] 22
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[31] 4

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Nightmare Logic (booklet). Power Trip. Southern Lord. 2017.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ a b c "Nightmare Logic by Power Trip Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "POWER TRIP Vocalist RILEY GALE Dead At 35". Blabbermouth.net. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  4. ^ "Nightmare Logic by Power Trip". Metacritic.
  5. ^ "Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. May 2, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Camp, Zoe (March 1, 2017). "Power Trip – Nightmare Logic". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d Brown, Louise (March 8, 2017). "Power Trip - Nightmare Logic". The Quietus. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Shepherd, Sam (March 2, 2017). "Power Trip – Nightmare Logic". musicOMH. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Warwick, Kevin (November 17, 2017). "With Nightmare Logic, Power Trip's crossover thrash unites doomed masses in celebration". Chicago Reader. Retrieved May 22, 2018. Power Trip have long produced crossover thrash for the tattered, sleeveless Cro-Mags T-shirt wearer in all of us—and with their recent sophomore album, the Dallas dudes prove it.
  10. ^ Lawson, Dom (March 12, 2017). "Power Trip - Nightmare Logic album review". Classic Rock. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Ranjanathan, Branan (February 22, 2017). "Power Trip Nightmare Logic". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  12. ^ Beaudoin, Jedd (February 23, 2017). "Power Trip: Nightmare Logic". PopMatters. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  13. ^ Sword, Harry. "Nightmare Logic". Record Collector. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  14. ^ Deller, Alex (February 17, 2017). "Power Trip - Nightmare Logic". Rock Sound. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  15. ^ "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Loudwire. November 27, 2017.
  16. ^ "2017 Loudwire Music Awards Complete Winners List + Photos". Loudwire. October 25, 2017.
  17. ^ "Power Trip: Nightmare Logic". Pitchfork.
  18. ^ "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. December 6, 2017.
  19. ^ "Exclaim!'s Top 10 Metal and Hardcore Albums Best of 2017". exclaim.ca. Exclaim!. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  20. ^ "25 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Loudwire. November 27, 2017. Retrieved December 23, 2017.
  21. ^ Beaudoin, Jedd (December 2017). "The Best Metal of 2017". popmatters.com. PopMatters. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  22. ^ Epstein, Dan; Bennett, J.; Pessaro, Fred; Camp, Zoe; Geist, Brandon (December 5, 2017). "20 Best Albums of 2017". Revolver. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  23. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R.; Shteamer, Hank; Bienstock, Richard; Grow, Kory; Epstein, Dan (December 6, 2017). "20 Best Metal Albums of 2017". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
  24. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Top 50 Thrash Metal Albums of All Time". Loudwire. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  25. ^ "Top 25 Metal Albums Of 2010-2019". MetalSucks. October 7, 2019.
  26. ^ "Top 100 Best Albums of the 2010s-2019". Vice Media. November 6, 2019.
  27. ^ "Power Trip". December 15, 2020.
  28. ^ "2017 Loudwire Music Awards Nominees Revealed". Loudwire. August 15, 2017.
  29. ^ "2017 Loudwire Music Awards Nominees Revealed". Loudwire. August 15, 2017.
  30. ^ "Power Trip Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  31. ^ "Power Trip Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
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