A Fentanyl Overdose Killed Dallas' Power Trip Vocalist Riley Gale

DALLAS, TX —When 34 -year old Dallas singer and Power Trip frontman Riley Gale died suddenly last year, there was widespread speculation among his friends and in the music community that he was killed by an accidental drug overdose. At the time, no cause of death was revealed.

But now that early speculation can be confirmed. According to MetalSucks, the Dallas County Medical Examiner's office says that Gale did indeed die from an overdose — of fentanyl.

Music lovers will remember too that it was exactly the same drug that killed Prince at 57 in 2016.

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Many fans and pundits believed that Gale and Power Trip were on the cusp of a commercial breakthrough. Ice-T, who worked as a collaborator with the Gale, told Stereogum that when they worked together on a video, the vocalist appeared healthy.

That can often be a deadly problem for people who relapse, he explained. "He’d gotten clean," said Ice-T, "and when you relapse, you go back to the same dose you’re used to and it kills you."

That was also what happened to Texas blues and rock icon Janis Joplin. She'd quit heroin, and went back for another taste.

The autopsy report on Gale's death states the singer was killed by a pulmonary edema, which is an accumulation of fluid in the tissues and air around the lungs. The condition, says the ruling, resulted from “the toxic effects of fentanyl.” At the time of his death, Gale's blood registered 22.5ng/mL (nanograms per milliliter) of fentanyl, surpassing the recommended amount for anesthesia and analgesia.

In the end, Gale's death was ruled an accident, and noted the singer's The autopsy report “history of depression" and "history of Xanax abuse.”

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