Powertrip

Ludichrist was a crossover/thrash band out of New York in the late 80's and released two excellent albums before disbanding. While thier debut ("Immaculate Deception") is basically a hardcore album with some decidedly more metal moments and production, "Powertrip" leans a bit harder on the thrash metal side of the crossover fence.

The album kicks off with "Powertrip", a pretty straight forward thrashing opener with a chorus remniscent of Excel. Right away it's clear the band has learned a trick or two on thier respective instruments with some of the guitar work reaching Suicidal Tendencies and Crumbsuckers heights. Track two "Zad" again leans a bit in an Excel fashion, hardcore leaning beat and a decent chorus. "Stuff To Fill Graves" thrashes along with a few good leads in an almost Crumbsuckers type fashion. The next few tracks follow suit thrashy riffs with hardcore type breaks but also mixing some funkish breaks, and the odd group shouted vocal here and there. "(T.D.O.S.) Barbare De Siviglia", an instrumental bit of guitar wankery pops up... and the album fades on to standout track "This Party Sucks" with it's hilarious narrative and memorable chorus. "Johnnypump" and "Yesterday For You" don't really stand out much beyond the well done solos and riffs. Next up is "And So It Goes" another standout track for me, starts out a bit toned down with some nice leads then works up to one of the better choruses/progressions on the album. But much like Excel the best riffs/moments are over too soon... "Well Dressed.." just blends in with the bulk of this album, thrashy riffs and hardcore breaks. "Iwo Jima" is a short filler track and "Powertrip" finishes off with a quick bang on "One For The Road".

Overall a well produced album by a couple of great musicians with a lot of energy. No overkill here, not too many huge standouts either. I'd recommend this if you're a fanatic for crossover bands especially Excel but also Suicidal Tendencies, and Crumbsuckers.