Noise-rockers supreme from Rhode Island, one of those bands that I have enjoyed as they bring the noize without the use of much guitar twanging at all, which takes a minimum of skill at least.....they are composed of drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale and bass-whiz Brian Gibson (not kidding, some of the best bass playing I've heard.....some bands mix their bass playing down so low it is hardly even audible, I guarentee you NOT A SOUL will have THAT complaint here!
So anyways....doesn't seem like these lads are especially well known, perhaps because they are SO UNLIKE anyone else. The vocals are distorted to the point of being indecipherable, the drumming is absolutly frantic, and the excellent bass playing I've already touched upon.....I could not DREAM of comparing them to anyone else, perhaps the "closest" (and it is really NOT THAT close as they use guitars and have a MUCH more accessible sound are A Place to Bury Strangers, whom I've done a post on before and really like, but Lightning Bolt has to be taken on their own, don't base a prediction of what they will sound like based on APTOBS).
Thier first, self-titled album (1999) is a bit of a mess, the sound had not really developed (can't beleive that this is the terminology I am using) as it would.....the album, when recorded on record, required purchasers to send three dollars for a cassette with a pair of other tracaks to complete the picture ("Zone" and "And Beyond", "Zone" being one of those 30 minute epics we all enjoy so much, these tracks are included on the CD version (here).
"Ride the Skies" (2001) is MUCH better, with shorter tracks (they are still PLENTY chaotic, trust me), the title track and (especially) "Forcefield" stand out to me, the way this stuff is, someof you might think of them as the worst . Often I describe a band I like and profile as "not for everyone", but that is understatement when used to describe most bands in comparison to these guys, be forewarned.
The next to albums were the highlights of these guys tour of duty for me, in particular album #3, "Wonderful Rainbow".....this album is a classic of noisy rock n roll, and even though, again, consists simply of bass and drums, rocks the fuck out. I call this at least a four-star album, could possibly give it 4.5, as every track is worthwhile. As is always the case with albums I think of as "classics that noone has heard of", I am TREMENDOUSLY interested in what you think of this, please comment, I know a few who love this album, and a few who hate it (and everything Lightning Bolt has done).
Nearly as good is "Hypermagic Mountain" (2005).....some like it more than "Wonderful Rainbow", basically it's an extension of the same....."Dead Cowboy" and "2 Morrow Morrow Land" stand out to me, again, this is best listened to in its entirety rather than picking/choosing tracks, at least that is how I find it the most effective way of absorbing it (not really all that radio-friendly, to say the least).
This was their peak period......if you don't want their whole catalogue, try these two albums and go from there. Since that time they have released "Earthly Delights" and "Oblivion Hunter" (as recently as 2012).....I have never heard them, tried to find them on the Bay to download em for anyone desiring a "complete picture", but couldn't find them.....anyway, as there are some DEFINITE limitations to their style/sound, I'm not going to knock myself out looking for them......while I was there, I DID locate a Peel Session from 2004 which is a 38 minute FM simulcast of a total noise-fest, and a "Live Tour 7 Inch", three live tracks that I have also included here. Perhaps if you really LOVE these, maybe someone will contribute the two latter day discs for ya, myself, I think the first four albums and the newly added "rarities" are gonna be enough for me at least!
I don't know, rock n roll can ALWAYS use something different, Lightning Bolt don't sound like Pearl Jam, or like the Rolling Stones, or like Sleater Kinney, the White Stripes, Kyuss, or anyone else.....they sound like Lightning Bolt. Perhaps someday in the future someone will make some pure-noise-rock albums as good as the above listed pair, and THOSE will be compared to the best work of Lightning Bolt.
If you are unfamiliar with these guys, please check them out, (albums 3 and 4), see what you think....and in this case REALLY I want comments, please. These guys are unique as well as not especially well known, a combination that BEGS for comments (at least on a band such as this that I enjoy)......hope ya like some of this, if not, well, there is always tomorrow!
LIGHTNING BOLT-01 Into the Valley/02 Murk Hike/03 Caught Deep in the Zone/04 Fleeing the Valley of Whirling Knives/05 Mistake/06 Zone/07 And Beyond
RIDE THE SKIES-01 Force Field/02 Saint Jacques/03 13 Monsters/04 Ride the Skies/05 The Faire Folk/06 Into the Mist 2/07 Wee Ones Parade/08 Rotator
WONDERFUL RAINBOW-01 Hello Morning/02 Assasins/03 Dracula Mountain/04 2 Towers/05 On Fire/06 Crown of Storms/07 Longstockings/08 Wonderful Rainbow/09 30000 Monkies/10 Duel in the Deep
HYPERMAGIC MOUNTAIN-01 2 Morrow Morrow Land/02 Captain Caveman/03 Birdy/04 Riffwraiths/05 Megaghost/06 Magic Moutain/07 Dead Cowboy/08 Bizarro Zarro Land/09 Mowhawkwindmill/10 Bizarro Bike/11 Infinity Farm/12 No Rest For the Obsessed
TOUR 7"-01 Conan/02 Behemouth/03 Into the Mist
PEEL SESSION-01 Unsplit
Links will be up in a little while don't rush me.....and have you given any thought to the question "Should BigScott62 have a special 'reup' week for the latecomers who missed the stuff the first time, or rather, should he ignore their pitiful pleas and laugh in their faces?" The choice, as always, is YOURS!
So anyways....doesn't seem like these lads are especially well known, perhaps because they are SO UNLIKE anyone else. The vocals are distorted to the point of being indecipherable, the drumming is absolutly frantic, and the excellent bass playing I've already touched upon.....I could not DREAM of comparing them to anyone else, perhaps the "closest" (and it is really NOT THAT close as they use guitars and have a MUCH more accessible sound are A Place to Bury Strangers, whom I've done a post on before and really like, but Lightning Bolt has to be taken on their own, don't base a prediction of what they will sound like based on APTOBS).
Thier first, self-titled album (1999) is a bit of a mess, the sound had not really developed (can't beleive that this is the terminology I am using) as it would.....the album, when recorded on record, required purchasers to send three dollars for a cassette with a pair of other tracaks to complete the picture ("Zone" and "And Beyond", "Zone" being one of those 30 minute epics we all enjoy so much, these tracks are included on the CD version (here).
"Ride the Skies" (2001) is MUCH better, with shorter tracks (they are still PLENTY chaotic, trust me), the title track and (especially) "Forcefield" stand out to me, the way this stuff is, someof you might think of them as the worst . Often I describe a band I like and profile as "not for everyone", but that is understatement when used to describe most bands in comparison to these guys, be forewarned.
The next to albums were the highlights of these guys tour of duty for me, in particular album #3, "Wonderful Rainbow".....this album is a classic of noisy rock n roll, and even though, again, consists simply of bass and drums, rocks the fuck out. I call this at least a four-star album, could possibly give it 4.5, as every track is worthwhile. As is always the case with albums I think of as "classics that noone has heard of", I am TREMENDOUSLY interested in what you think of this, please comment, I know a few who love this album, and a few who hate it (and everything Lightning Bolt has done).
Nearly as good is "Hypermagic Mountain" (2005).....some like it more than "Wonderful Rainbow", basically it's an extension of the same....."Dead Cowboy" and "2 Morrow Morrow Land" stand out to me, again, this is best listened to in its entirety rather than picking/choosing tracks, at least that is how I find it the most effective way of absorbing it (not really all that radio-friendly, to say the least).
This was their peak period......if you don't want their whole catalogue, try these two albums and go from there. Since that time they have released "Earthly Delights" and "Oblivion Hunter" (as recently as 2012).....I have never heard them, tried to find them on the Bay to download em for anyone desiring a "complete picture", but couldn't find them.....anyway, as there are some DEFINITE limitations to their style/sound, I'm not going to knock myself out looking for them......while I was there, I DID locate a Peel Session from 2004 which is a 38 minute FM simulcast of a total noise-fest, and a "Live Tour 7 Inch", three live tracks that I have also included here. Perhaps if you really LOVE these, maybe someone will contribute the two latter day discs for ya, myself, I think the first four albums and the newly added "rarities" are gonna be enough for me at least!
I don't know, rock n roll can ALWAYS use something different, Lightning Bolt don't sound like Pearl Jam, or like the Rolling Stones, or like Sleater Kinney, the White Stripes, Kyuss, or anyone else.....they sound like Lightning Bolt. Perhaps someday in the future someone will make some pure-noise-rock albums as good as the above listed pair, and THOSE will be compared to the best work of Lightning Bolt.
If you are unfamiliar with these guys, please check them out, (albums 3 and 4), see what you think....and in this case REALLY I want comments, please. These guys are unique as well as not especially well known, a combination that BEGS for comments (at least on a band such as this that I enjoy)......hope ya like some of this, if not, well, there is always tomorrow!
LIGHTNING BOLT-01 Into the Valley/02 Murk Hike/03 Caught Deep in the Zone/04 Fleeing the Valley of Whirling Knives/05 Mistake/06 Zone/07 And Beyond
RIDE THE SKIES-01 Force Field/02 Saint Jacques/03 13 Monsters/04 Ride the Skies/05 The Faire Folk/06 Into the Mist 2/07 Wee Ones Parade/08 Rotator
WONDERFUL RAINBOW-01 Hello Morning/02 Assasins/03 Dracula Mountain/04 2 Towers/05 On Fire/06 Crown of Storms/07 Longstockings/08 Wonderful Rainbow/09 30000 Monkies/10 Duel in the Deep
HYPERMAGIC MOUNTAIN-01 2 Morrow Morrow Land/02 Captain Caveman/03 Birdy/04 Riffwraiths/05 Megaghost/06 Magic Moutain/07 Dead Cowboy/08 Bizarro Zarro Land/09 Mowhawkwindmill/10 Bizarro Bike/11 Infinity Farm/12 No Rest For the Obsessed
TOUR 7"-01 Conan/02 Behemouth/03 Into the Mist
PEEL SESSION-01 Unsplit
Links will be up in a little while don't rush me.....and have you given any thought to the question "Should BigScott62 have a special 'reup' week for the latecomers who missed the stuff the first time, or rather, should he ignore their pitiful pleas and laugh in their faces?" The choice, as always, is YOURS!