Fugitive - Blast Furnace b/w Standoff

In my humble opinion, Fugitive is one of the best new bands in metal because Blake Ibanez wakes up with stank face riffs pin-balling inside his cranium! Fugitive is a “super-group” consisting of Blake Ibanez (Power Trip), guitarist Victor Gutierrez (Impalers), vocalist Seth Gilmore (Skourge), bassist Andy Messer (ANS, Stymie), and drummer Lincoln Mullins (Creeping Death). Together they are a heavy metal pile driver! Their first EP Maniac was 4 tunes of head banging bliss. With Blast Furnace and Standoff, you are seeing the band step up their production chops and let their onslaught rip your ears off in a delightful manner. Blast Furnace has a Crossbreaker (Power Trip) groove to it. The chug is a spine to a masterful thrash song. Gilmore barks with a nasty bite while the guitars will provide the fuel to head-bang with my ferocity. The solo on the track is precision at its finest. This is one of the best metal tracks of 2023! Chefs kiss!
Standoff reminds me so much of Metallica’s Kill Em All. It is raw, riffy, frantic and in your face. What I appreciate about Fugitive is they are not afraid to let the guitars stand alone without a solo or vocals. Ibanez writes really good riffs that deserve the spotlight and let the pit also appreciate the mastery with ample collisions. Standoff is written to let a pit purge demons.
This review is a bit of a love letter to Blake Ibanez. As well it should be. He lost his friend and lead singer in Riley Gale. Power Trip is on hiatus after that loss. Instead of doing nothing, he brought in his friends, and is writing and producing incredibly raw and bruising metal. Tip of the cap to him. I might mention, they are opening for Metallica soon. Things are on the up and up and they are obviously doing something very right. Give it a listen…I promise you will like these two tracks.

9 out of 10: Are these songs part of an eventual full length?

-Derek


#thrashmetal #crossoverthrash #powertrip #fugitive