TRIP VILLAIN: NYC Electro Thrash Unit Formed By Members Of Netherlands, Bangladeafy, And More To Release Second LP, Dose, On Seeing Red Records May 8th; Videos, Preorders, And More Posted
photos by Robby Grodin
Electronic-infused metal quartet TRIP VILLAIN melds ferocious thrash riffs with the thunderous weight of modern industrial techno on their forthcoming second LP, Dose, confirmed for May release through Seeing Red Records. Building on the doom-laden, psychedelic textures of their debut LP, Won (2022, Seeing Red Records), TRIP VILLAIN has sharpened their edge — pioneering an uncompromising electro-thrash sound inspired by crossover icons like Static-X and Atari Teenage Riot, yet pushing both aggression and danceability to new heights.
TRIP VILLAIN was formed in 2021 by guitarist/vocalist Josh Musto and drummer Damien Moffitt - lifelong musical partners since the 4th grade. Musto and Moffitt honed their speed chops in the teenage thrash band ShitKill from 2009 to 2018, played as the rhythm section in avant-doom project Netherlands from 2018-2020, then began writing as a duo during the pandemic. Jon Ehlers, the mastermind behind Industrial drum and bass duo Bangladeafy joined the band on synthbass in 2022. The trio began writing more aggressive new music, drawing inspiration from Brooklyn’s post-COVID electronic renaissance, having played alongside Lip Critic, Moon Tooth, Flatwounds, Blu Anxxiety, Melted Bodies, President Evil, and countless local acts around the NYC area.
“When live music came back to NYC, a lot of the genre lines got pretty blurry. At first the only shows happening were underground techno, so a lot of us metalheads got exposed to it in the wild for the first time,” says frontman Josh Musto. “A lot of nights I would see an early metal gig, then a super hard late night DJ set, then wake up the next morning with a truly diabolical cocktail of sounds in my head, ready to start producing a new track."
In 2024, TRIP VILLAIN released “You Flew a Plane Into My Heart,” an eccentric industrial track written about a bad trip at a rave, followed by the anthemic “Lowbender,” about a psychedelic journey, in which a mortal man sheds his physical form and transforms into an omnipotent spirit made of pure bass energy. The band released their heaviest song yet with “Reign Supreme” in January 2025, a reverent tribute to the band’s thrash metal roots.
Musto delves, “I went to this Surf Gang / Bodybag DJ party in 2023, and my homie Goner played ‘Spheres Of Madness’ by Decapitated in the middle of a mostly rap set – everyone danced way harder and I had kind of a ‘holy shit’ moment. I left that show, went home and made the first demo of ‘Reign Supreme,’ which started with two Gojira and Slayer samples and a gabber breakbeat Goner had sent me. I finished that track and knew I had created a sonic thesis for this era of the band.”
This expansion comes to a boil on the second TRIP VILLAIN album, Dose, the record surging with the vibe of Brooklyn’s energetic underground underbelly. A teleportational whirlwind of inspiration that sucks the listener into a Bushwick alley for a pop-up rave hosted in the center of a circle pit at 4am on a Tuesday with the cross-pollution of stimulants coalescing in the best way possible. An energetic thirty-six-minute prescription of fist-pumping electrodirge with equal parts unhinged unpredictability and nostalgic bliss that should be on the radar of fans of Static-X, Slayer, Gesaffelstein, Sepultura, Boys Noize, Nine Inch Nails, Mindless Self Indulgence, Atari Teenage Riot, Health, and Frontline Assembly.
Dose was recorded and produced by Josh Musto at The Tea Factory, mixed by Joe Ippolito and Damien Moffitt, mastered by Will Killingsworth at Dead Air Studios (The Body, Fugitive, Magrudergrind), completed with artwork by Jon Ehlers, with guest vocals by Danny Eberle (Lip Critic, Post No Bills) and actor/vocalist Jacob Lumet-Cannavale (Vixen Maw, The Mandalorian, Scarpetta) scattered across the record. Upon completion of Dose, the band expanded to a quartet, adding synth virtuoso Peter Duke to fill out the album’s complex layered production.
Scope TRIP VILLIAN’s videos for “Lowbender” HERE and “You Flew a Plane Into My Heart” HERE.
Dose will be released on LP and digital formats on May 8th through Seeing Red Records. Find preorders for all formats at Bandcamp HERE and find digital presaves HERE.
Dose Track Listing:
1. Reign Supreme
2. Cyan Spirits
3. You Flew A Plane Into My Heart (feat. Goner)
4. Dose
5. Lowbender
6. Meth Communion (feat. Post No Bills)
7. Villain Maw (feat. Vixen Maw)
8. Angelsmoke
9. ShitKill
Additional videos and previews of the album will be leaked over the weeks ahead.
TRIP VILLAIN has been playing live frequently throughout the city over the past several weeks, including advancing through the Our Wicked Lady Winter Madness tournament, the band advancing to round 3 this Friday, and if they win, to the final round Saturday. Additional tour plans will be announced shortly.
