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Power Trip and Obituary Honor Riley Gale With ‘Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe)’ Performance

For the first time since lead singer Riley Gale died last year, the surviving members of Grammy-nominated Texas band Power Trip got together to pay musical tribute to their late frontman, joining John and Donald Tardy of metal behemoths Obituary for a studio performance of Power Trip’s “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe).”

Power Trip’s surviving members — guitarists Nick Stewart and Blake Ibanez, drummer Chris Ulsh, and bassist Chris Whetzel — also affirmed their desire to carry on, Stewart telling the Los Angeles Times, “We do want to continue to play music together; we just are not sure what that looks like at this time.”

In the tribute to Gale, who died in August 2020 at the age of 34, the band held up a photo of Gale, saying “rest in peace, brother,” before launching into their Grammy-nominated song “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe).”

Following Gale’s death, he was lauded by peers and friends including Ice-T and Anthrax‘s Scott Ian, and his work as an activist was honored with a library named after him at Dallas Hope Center.

Watch the members of Power Trip and Obituary play for Gale below.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=D67xoekENZQ