Chords for Lightning Bolt - Fantasy Empire ALBUM REVIEW
Tempo:
130.4 bpm
Chords used:
Gb
B
A
Ab
G
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[A] Hi [G] everyone, [E] Gethini [A] Trentano here, the internet's [Gb] busiest music [E] [Bb] nerd.
And it's [Fm] time for a review [F] of the [Gb] new Lightning [Bbm] Bolt album, Is It An Absolute N-
[B] I am here for absolutely no reason whatsoever!
Lightning Bolt is a [Fm] Rhode Island musical duo, easily one of the best [Ab] musical duos of the [Bb] 2000s.
They had a fantastic run for 10 years with a handful [Db] of great noise rock albums, Ride
the Skies, Hyper Magic Mountain, Wonderful Rainbow, and the [Fm] album Earthly Delights in [B] 2009.
The only real lull [Am] in their album discography is a [A]
2012 B-sides [B] album, Oblivion Hunter.
Kinda demo quality, a little [A] messy, sorta reminded me of their debut live album.
But the rest of their discography is an overwhelming, atomically explosive, colorful, [F] abrasive,
and psychedelic freefall into the mouth of [B] a volcano.
And they've been [Eb] able to keep up this [B] level of intensity with [Gb] a pretty basic setup for years.
[G] Just drums [Abm] and bass.
Lightning Bolt is two [B] guys, but they make enough noise for five.
First, we have Brian Chippendale's dizzying, frantic drumming, and he also does vocals
as well, and the way that he records [G] his voice, I'm not 100% sure on what the apparatus [Gb] is
or what kind [B] of microphone he's using, but the way it's incorporated into Lightning
Bolt's recordings, it sounds like he's singing at you through the talk box of like
a fast [Gbm] food drive-thru.
And then we have Brian Gibson's bass guitar, which he plays a lot more like [Gb] a traditional electric [B] guitar.
He's riffing, he's shredding, he's playing leads on the bass guitar, he's throwing tons
[Bb] of effects into the mix too, like reverbs and a loop pedal [E] distortion.
And all of these things have been [Gb] improved upon and sort of finely tuned as Lightning
Bolt progressed from Ride the [Ab] Skies to Earthly [Eb] Delights.
The drumming, the vocals, the bass loops, and the layers actually got so [A] intense on
[Bb] the album Hyper Magic Mountain when that album first came out, [B] I had to stop playing it because
[A] I kept [Gb] giving myself [Eb] migraine headaches.
[Gb] And even though their music [B] is seriously intense, there's something kind of [G] fun and absurd [Gb] and
demented [F] about it too.
Now even though I do love the [Bb] sound of Lightning Bolt, I love the idea [Bbm] behind this [F] duo.
It's a [Cm] sound that I imagine is pretty difficult [Am] to stretch out for five records.
[Dbm] But despite the delay, despite the doubt, I still went into this record [Ab] with high hopes.
I mean, with nearly every Lightning Bolt album I kind of [Gb] go into it wondering what they're
gonna do next to keep their sound and keep their [Abm] style entertaining, and they've always
managed to pull through.
And with this new [B] record here, at their core they're really still the same [G] band delivering
a lot of the same trademark sounds.
The grimy, roaring bass guitar, intense drumming, fuzzed out, brittle vocals, all thrown together
in a whirlwind of psych punk noise insanity.
[Bbm] Over the runtime of this album, Lightning Bolt manages to toss in a [Abm] few new or different
ideas, [Ab] but maybe the most grueling thing about this record [B] at first listen if you are a Lightning
[Bb] Bolt fan [Eb] is that it's not [Bb] quite as heavy or [G] densely layered [Abm] as their more recent efforts.
This record definitely has a rarer aesthetic [B] but still packs a lot of punch.
[Abm] Maybe not quite as raw or as noisy as Oblivion Hunter, but not as overdubbed and [B] as tightly
put together and as flashy [Ab] as an album [Gb] like Hyper Magic Mountain.
It seems like on [Ab] this new record here, Lightning Bolt is really trying to [Gb] keep this record
afloat with some great intense [Db] performances.
This LP kicks off with The Metal [A] East, which features these [B]
rolling bass triplets and this
[A] driving snare [B] drum.
There are these little ascending and [A] descending melodies in between [Ab] these verses of frenzied vocals.
And for [Eb] the most part it really sounds [B] like Lightning Bolt as usual, aside from kind of
a weird high [Bbm]-pitched noisy chaotic [A] freak out in the middle of the song and a point [Eb] toward
the end of the [F] track where I think we're getting like a weird keyboard riff or [B] something.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Gb] this sound came from Brian's bass as well, but there is something
kind of synthetic about the sound that kind of struck me like, [G] oh I've never [Gb] really heard
this sound in a Lightning Bolt song before.
But it [G] lasts such a short while that it really [Gb] doesn't leave an impact for me on the [F] song
as a whole.
[C] Despite a [B] couple of novel ideas, again this track just feels [A] like Lightning Bolt by [Bbm] the
numbers, which makes me wonder.
I'm not sure if stripping [G] things back was kind of the best [Gb] idea for this record because
it's not like alternatively they've kind of found a [A] new [Gb] avenue or [G] kind of a [Bb] new direction
to go in with this simpler [Bbm] approach.
There are some longer cuts on here that might number up to [B] six or eleven minutes where the
playing gets a little more chaotic.
[A] There might be some more psychedelic effects in the mix like with the epic closer Snow
[Abm] White or the very thick and chaotic [Bbm] Dream Genie.
And the song Over the River and Through [Ab] the Woods as well, which is actually one of my
favorite tracks here [Gb] until the point where the entire groove of the song [E] changes and
it feels [Gb] like Brian Gibson starts delivering this kind of basic, straightforward, dancey
bass riff that sounds like [F] something off of a Death From Above record.
At which point the [Abm] song really starts to drag.
The shorter [Gb] cuts on here are more straightforward, more concise, pack some energy, but [C] maybe
the riff writing isn't the [B] best that Lightning Bolt has [A] ever delivered.
I love the galloping groove of the song Horsepower, but without a fantastic riff [Gb] to ride that
groove because we're really [G] kind of getting one note [Gbm] riding this groove a lot of the time.
It gets a little [B] redundant.
This song makes me think back to older Lightning Bolt cuts like [Gb] Two Towers where [Ab] for a majority
of the track, minutes at [B] a time, we're like getting this [A] one riff, this one groove, and
yet Lightning Bolt found [Gbm] ways to kind of keep [A] it [Bb] intense, keep it interesting, [B] keep
it hypnotic [Bb] just by varying [A] the groove slightly as they continued to play it.
And of course Wonderful Rainbow's incredibly crushing [Ab] sound helped keep [Gb] that track interesting too.
A [Ab] crushing sound, an extremely [Gb] crushing sound [Ab] that I don't think [Gb] this record [C] quite has.
There are also ideas I like from the song King of My World like [B] the fluttering [G] lead
melodies [Abm] all over this track and the intense wall [A] of sound that accompanies them and the
jagged drum [Gb] beat, but this song just takes so long to get going [Bb] and once these [Ab] fluttering
melodies and the wall of sound introduce themselves, they just kind of pop [A] in with no real tension
or [Bb] build or anything.
This just feels like a really [Gb] weakly assembled track.
Thankfully, the song Rift High on Skid kind [Ab] of picks things up [A] with an interesting, dynamic
sound, some really primal, [Ab] low-key drum beats and quiet [A]
chants, some [F] droney bass, and then
all of a sudden blast beats and [A] loud riffs [C] and ARGHHHHHHHHH.
I also love the fluttering [B] ascending delayed [A] intervals toward the end of this track
Another [Bb] example of a sharp idea on [F] this record of which I think there are many on this album
They're just not [A] encased into some of lightening bolt's best songs
But really I only feel [Gb] that way about the first half of this album [Abm] the second half of this LP
I actually think [G] makes for a great lightening [Bb] bolt record.
It's fast.
It's frenzied.
It's sonically intense
The performances are great.
Lightning Bolt proves they're still one of the most unique [Am] bands in noise rock,
even if [Gb] unintentionally they sort of show how limited [F] their sound is.
I'm feeling a light to decent 7 [B] on this LP.
Tran.
Zishen, if you've given this album a listen, what did you [Dbm] think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you [A] hate it?
Why?
[G] What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano.
Lightning Bolt.
Fantasy
And it's [Fm] time for a review [F] of the [Gb] new Lightning [Bbm] Bolt album, Is It An Absolute N-
[B] I am here for absolutely no reason whatsoever!
Lightning Bolt is a [Fm] Rhode Island musical duo, easily one of the best [Ab] musical duos of the [Bb] 2000s.
They had a fantastic run for 10 years with a handful [Db] of great noise rock albums, Ride
the Skies, Hyper Magic Mountain, Wonderful Rainbow, and the [Fm] album Earthly Delights in [B] 2009.
The only real lull [Am] in their album discography is a [A]
2012 B-sides [B] album, Oblivion Hunter.
Kinda demo quality, a little [A] messy, sorta reminded me of their debut live album.
But the rest of their discography is an overwhelming, atomically explosive, colorful, [F] abrasive,
and psychedelic freefall into the mouth of [B] a volcano.
And they've been [Eb] able to keep up this [B] level of intensity with [Gb] a pretty basic setup for years.
[G] Just drums [Abm] and bass.
Lightning Bolt is two [B] guys, but they make enough noise for five.
First, we have Brian Chippendale's dizzying, frantic drumming, and he also does vocals
as well, and the way that he records [G] his voice, I'm not 100% sure on what the apparatus [Gb] is
or what kind [B] of microphone he's using, but the way it's incorporated into Lightning
Bolt's recordings, it sounds like he's singing at you through the talk box of like
a fast [Gbm] food drive-thru.
And then we have Brian Gibson's bass guitar, which he plays a lot more like [Gb] a traditional electric [B] guitar.
He's riffing, he's shredding, he's playing leads on the bass guitar, he's throwing tons
[Bb] of effects into the mix too, like reverbs and a loop pedal [E] distortion.
And all of these things have been [Gb] improved upon and sort of finely tuned as Lightning
Bolt progressed from Ride the [Ab] Skies to Earthly [Eb] Delights.
The drumming, the vocals, the bass loops, and the layers actually got so [A] intense on
[Bb] the album Hyper Magic Mountain when that album first came out, [B] I had to stop playing it because
[A] I kept [Gb] giving myself [Eb] migraine headaches.
[Gb] And even though their music [B] is seriously intense, there's something kind of [G] fun and absurd [Gb] and
demented [F] about it too.
Now even though I do love the [Bb] sound of Lightning Bolt, I love the idea [Bbm] behind this [F] duo.
It's a [Cm] sound that I imagine is pretty difficult [Am] to stretch out for five records.
[Dbm] But despite the delay, despite the doubt, I still went into this record [Ab] with high hopes.
I mean, with nearly every Lightning Bolt album I kind of [Gb] go into it wondering what they're
gonna do next to keep their sound and keep their [Abm] style entertaining, and they've always
managed to pull through.
And with this new [B] record here, at their core they're really still the same [G] band delivering
a lot of the same trademark sounds.
The grimy, roaring bass guitar, intense drumming, fuzzed out, brittle vocals, all thrown together
in a whirlwind of psych punk noise insanity.
[Bbm] Over the runtime of this album, Lightning Bolt manages to toss in a [Abm] few new or different
ideas, [Ab] but maybe the most grueling thing about this record [B] at first listen if you are a Lightning
[Bb] Bolt fan [Eb] is that it's not [Bb] quite as heavy or [G] densely layered [Abm] as their more recent efforts.
This record definitely has a rarer aesthetic [B] but still packs a lot of punch.
[Abm] Maybe not quite as raw or as noisy as Oblivion Hunter, but not as overdubbed and [B] as tightly
put together and as flashy [Ab] as an album [Gb] like Hyper Magic Mountain.
It seems like on [Ab] this new record here, Lightning Bolt is really trying to [Gb] keep this record
afloat with some great intense [Db] performances.
This LP kicks off with The Metal [A] East, which features these [B]
rolling bass triplets and this
[A] driving snare [B] drum.
There are these little ascending and [A] descending melodies in between [Ab] these verses of frenzied vocals.
And for [Eb] the most part it really sounds [B] like Lightning Bolt as usual, aside from kind of
a weird high [Bbm]-pitched noisy chaotic [A] freak out in the middle of the song and a point [Eb] toward
the end of the [F] track where I think we're getting like a weird keyboard riff or [B] something.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Gb] this sound came from Brian's bass as well, but there is something
kind of synthetic about the sound that kind of struck me like, [G] oh I've never [Gb] really heard
this sound in a Lightning Bolt song before.
But it [G] lasts such a short while that it really [Gb] doesn't leave an impact for me on the [F] song
as a whole.
[C] Despite a [B] couple of novel ideas, again this track just feels [A] like Lightning Bolt by [Bbm] the
numbers, which makes me wonder.
I'm not sure if stripping [G] things back was kind of the best [Gb] idea for this record because
it's not like alternatively they've kind of found a [A] new [Gb] avenue or [G] kind of a [Bb] new direction
to go in with this simpler [Bbm] approach.
There are some longer cuts on here that might number up to [B] six or eleven minutes where the
playing gets a little more chaotic.
[A] There might be some more psychedelic effects in the mix like with the epic closer Snow
[Abm] White or the very thick and chaotic [Bbm] Dream Genie.
And the song Over the River and Through [Ab] the Woods as well, which is actually one of my
favorite tracks here [Gb] until the point where the entire groove of the song [E] changes and
it feels [Gb] like Brian Gibson starts delivering this kind of basic, straightforward, dancey
bass riff that sounds like [F] something off of a Death From Above record.
At which point the [Abm] song really starts to drag.
The shorter [Gb] cuts on here are more straightforward, more concise, pack some energy, but [C] maybe
the riff writing isn't the [B] best that Lightning Bolt has [A] ever delivered.
I love the galloping groove of the song Horsepower, but without a fantastic riff [Gb] to ride that
groove because we're really [G] kind of getting one note [Gbm] riding this groove a lot of the time.
It gets a little [B] redundant.
This song makes me think back to older Lightning Bolt cuts like [Gb] Two Towers where [Ab] for a majority
of the track, minutes at [B] a time, we're like getting this [A] one riff, this one groove, and
yet Lightning Bolt found [Gbm] ways to kind of keep [A] it [Bb] intense, keep it interesting, [B] keep
it hypnotic [Bb] just by varying [A] the groove slightly as they continued to play it.
And of course Wonderful Rainbow's incredibly crushing [Ab] sound helped keep [Gb] that track interesting too.
A [Ab] crushing sound, an extremely [Gb] crushing sound [Ab] that I don't think [Gb] this record [C] quite has.
There are also ideas I like from the song King of My World like [B] the fluttering [G] lead
melodies [Abm] all over this track and the intense wall [A] of sound that accompanies them and the
jagged drum [Gb] beat, but this song just takes so long to get going [Bb] and once these [Ab] fluttering
melodies and the wall of sound introduce themselves, they just kind of pop [A] in with no real tension
or [Bb] build or anything.
This just feels like a really [Gb] weakly assembled track.
Thankfully, the song Rift High on Skid kind [Ab] of picks things up [A] with an interesting, dynamic
sound, some really primal, [Ab] low-key drum beats and quiet [A]
chants, some [F] droney bass, and then
all of a sudden blast beats and [A] loud riffs [C] and ARGHHHHHHHHH.
I also love the fluttering [B] ascending delayed [A] intervals toward the end of this track
Another [Bb] example of a sharp idea on [F] this record of which I think there are many on this album
They're just not [A] encased into some of lightening bolt's best songs
But really I only feel [Gb] that way about the first half of this album [Abm] the second half of this LP
I actually think [G] makes for a great lightening [Bb] bolt record.
It's fast.
It's frenzied.
It's sonically intense
The performances are great.
Lightning Bolt proves they're still one of the most unique [Am] bands in noise rock,
even if [Gb] unintentionally they sort of show how limited [F] their sound is.
I'm feeling a light to decent 7 [B] on this LP.
Tran.
Zishen, if you've given this album a listen, what did you [Dbm] think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you [A] hate it?
Why?
[G] What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano.
Lightning Bolt.
Fantasy
Key:
Gb
B
A
Ab
G
Gb
B
A
[A] Hi [G] everyone, [E] Gethini [A] Trentano here, the internet's [Gb] busiest music [E] [Bb] nerd.
And it's [Fm] time for a review [F] of the [Gb] new Lightning [Bbm] Bolt album, Is It An Absolute N-
[B] I am here for absolutely no reason whatsoever!
Lightning Bolt is a [Fm] Rhode Island musical duo, easily one of the best [Ab] musical duos of the [Bb] 2000s.
They had a fantastic run for 10 years with a handful [Db] of great noise rock albums, Ride
the Skies, Hyper Magic Mountain, Wonderful Rainbow, and the [Fm] album Earthly Delights in [B] 2009.
The only real lull [Am] in their album discography is a [A]
2012 B-sides [B] album, Oblivion Hunter.
Kinda demo quality, a little [A] messy, sorta reminded me of their debut live album.
But the rest of their discography is an overwhelming, atomically explosive, colorful, _ [F] abrasive,
and psychedelic freefall into the mouth of [B] a volcano.
And they've been [Eb] able to keep up this [B] level of intensity with [Gb] a pretty basic setup for years.
[G] Just drums [Abm] and bass.
Lightning Bolt is two [B] guys, but they make enough noise for five.
First, we have Brian Chippendale's dizzying, frantic drumming, and he also does vocals
as well, and the way that he records [G] his voice, I'm not 100% sure on what the apparatus [Gb] is
or what kind [B] of microphone he's using, but the way it's incorporated into Lightning
Bolt's recordings, it sounds like he's singing at you through the talk box of like
a fast [Gbm] food drive-thru.
And then we have Brian Gibson's bass guitar, which he plays a lot more like [Gb] a traditional electric [B] guitar.
He's riffing, he's shredding, he's playing leads on the bass guitar, he's throwing tons
[Bb] of effects into the mix too, like reverbs and a loop pedal [E] distortion.
And all of these things have been [Gb] improved upon and sort of finely tuned as Lightning
Bolt progressed from Ride the [Ab] Skies to Earthly [Eb] Delights.
The drumming, the vocals, the bass loops, and the layers actually got so [A] intense on
[Bb] the album Hyper Magic Mountain when that album first came out, [B] I had to stop playing it because
[A] I kept [Gb] giving myself [Eb] migraine headaches.
[Gb] And even though their music [B] is seriously intense, there's something kind of [G] fun and absurd [Gb] and
demented [F] about it too.
Now even though I do love the [Bb] sound of Lightning Bolt, I love the idea [Bbm] behind this [F] duo.
It's a [Cm] sound that I imagine is pretty difficult [Am] to stretch out for five records.
[Dbm] But despite the delay, despite the doubt, I still went into this record [Ab] with high hopes.
I mean, with nearly every Lightning Bolt album I kind of [Gb] go into it wondering what they're
gonna do next to keep their sound and keep their [Abm] style entertaining, and they've always
managed to pull through.
And with this new [B] record here, at their core they're really still the same [G] band delivering
a lot of the same trademark sounds.
The grimy, roaring bass guitar, intense drumming, fuzzed out, brittle vocals, all thrown together
in a whirlwind of psych punk noise insanity.
[Bbm] Over the runtime of this album, Lightning Bolt manages to toss in a [Abm] few new or different
ideas, [Ab] but maybe the most grueling thing about this record [B] at first listen if you are a Lightning
[Bb] Bolt fan [Eb] is that it's not [Bb] quite as heavy or [G] densely layered [Abm] as their more recent efforts.
This record definitely has a rarer aesthetic [B] but still packs a lot of punch.
[Abm] Maybe not quite as raw or as noisy as Oblivion Hunter, but not as overdubbed and [B] as tightly
put together and as flashy [Ab] as an album [Gb] like Hyper Magic Mountain.
It seems like on [Ab] this new record here, Lightning Bolt is really trying to [Gb] keep this record
afloat with some great intense [Db] performances.
This LP kicks off with The Metal [A] East, which features these [B]
rolling bass triplets and this
[A] driving snare [B] drum.
There are these little ascending and [A] descending melodies in between [Ab] these verses of frenzied vocals.
And for [Eb] the most part it really sounds [B] like Lightning Bolt as usual, aside from kind of
a weird high [Bbm]-pitched noisy chaotic [A] freak out in the middle of the song and a point [Eb] toward
the end of the [F] track where I think we're getting like a weird keyboard riff or [B] something.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Gb] this sound came from Brian's bass as well, but there is something
kind of synthetic about the sound that kind of struck me like, [G] oh I've never [Gb] really heard
this sound in a Lightning Bolt song before.
But it [G] lasts such a short while that it really [Gb] doesn't leave an impact for me on the [F] song
as a whole.
[C] Despite a [B] couple of novel ideas, again this track just feels [A] like Lightning Bolt by [Bbm] the
numbers, which makes me wonder.
I'm not sure if stripping [G] things back was kind of the best [Gb] idea for this record because
it's not like alternatively they've kind of found a [A] new [Gb] avenue or [G] kind of a [Bb] new direction
to go in with this simpler [Bbm] approach.
There are some longer cuts on here that might number up to [B] six or eleven minutes where the
playing gets a little more chaotic.
[A] There might be some more psychedelic effects in the mix like with the epic closer Snow
[Abm] White or the very thick and chaotic [Bbm] Dream Genie.
And the song Over the River and Through [Ab] the Woods as well, which is actually one of my
favorite tracks here [Gb] until the point where the entire groove of the song [E] changes and
it feels [Gb] like Brian Gibson starts delivering this kind of basic, straightforward, dancey
bass riff that sounds like [F] something off of a Death From Above record.
At which point the [Abm] song really starts to drag.
The shorter [Gb] cuts on here are more straightforward, more concise, pack some energy, but [C] maybe
the riff writing isn't the [B] best that Lightning Bolt has [A] ever delivered.
I love the galloping groove of the song Horsepower, but without a fantastic riff [Gb] to ride that
groove because we're really [G] kind of getting one note [Gbm] riding this groove a lot of the time.
It gets a little [B] redundant.
This song makes me think back to older Lightning Bolt cuts like [Gb] Two Towers where [Ab] for a majority
of the track, minutes at [B] a time, we're like getting this [A] one riff, this one groove, and
yet Lightning Bolt found [Gbm] ways to kind of keep [A] it [Bb] intense, keep it interesting, [B] keep
it hypnotic [Bb] just by varying [A] the groove slightly as they continued to play it.
And of course Wonderful Rainbow's incredibly crushing [Ab] sound helped keep [Gb] that track interesting too.
A [Ab] crushing sound, an extremely [Gb] crushing sound [Ab] that I don't think [Gb] this record [C] quite has.
There are also ideas I like from the song King of My World like [B] the fluttering [G] lead
melodies [Abm] all over this track and the intense wall [A] of sound that accompanies them and the
jagged drum [Gb] beat, but this song just takes so long to get going [Bb] and once these [Ab] fluttering
melodies and the wall of sound introduce themselves, they just kind of pop [A] in with no real tension
or [Bb] build or anything.
This just feels like a really [Gb] weakly assembled track.
Thankfully, the song Rift High on Skid kind [Ab] of picks things up [A] with an interesting, dynamic
sound, some really primal, [Ab] low-key drum beats and quiet [A]
chants, some [F] droney bass, and then
all of a sudden blast beats and [A] loud riffs [C] and _ ARGHHHHHHHHH.
I also love the fluttering [B] ascending delayed [A] intervals toward the end of this track _
_ _ _ Another [Bb] example of a sharp idea on [F] this record of which I think there are many on this album
They're just not [A] encased into some of lightening bolt's best songs
But really I only feel [Gb] that way about the first half of this album [Abm] the second half of this LP
I actually think [G] makes for a great lightening [Bb] bolt record.
It's fast.
It's frenzied.
It's sonically intense
The performances are great.
Lightning Bolt proves they're still one of the most unique [Am] bands in noise rock,
even if [Gb] _ unintentionally they sort of show how limited [F] their sound is.
I'm feeling a light to decent 7 [B] on this LP.
Tran.
_ Zishen, if you've given this album a listen, what did you [Dbm] think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you [A] hate it?
Why?
[G] What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano.
_ Lightning Bolt.
_ _ Fantasy
And it's [Fm] time for a review [F] of the [Gb] new Lightning [Bbm] Bolt album, Is It An Absolute N-
[B] I am here for absolutely no reason whatsoever!
Lightning Bolt is a [Fm] Rhode Island musical duo, easily one of the best [Ab] musical duos of the [Bb] 2000s.
They had a fantastic run for 10 years with a handful [Db] of great noise rock albums, Ride
the Skies, Hyper Magic Mountain, Wonderful Rainbow, and the [Fm] album Earthly Delights in [B] 2009.
The only real lull [Am] in their album discography is a [A]
2012 B-sides [B] album, Oblivion Hunter.
Kinda demo quality, a little [A] messy, sorta reminded me of their debut live album.
But the rest of their discography is an overwhelming, atomically explosive, colorful, _ [F] abrasive,
and psychedelic freefall into the mouth of [B] a volcano.
And they've been [Eb] able to keep up this [B] level of intensity with [Gb] a pretty basic setup for years.
[G] Just drums [Abm] and bass.
Lightning Bolt is two [B] guys, but they make enough noise for five.
First, we have Brian Chippendale's dizzying, frantic drumming, and he also does vocals
as well, and the way that he records [G] his voice, I'm not 100% sure on what the apparatus [Gb] is
or what kind [B] of microphone he's using, but the way it's incorporated into Lightning
Bolt's recordings, it sounds like he's singing at you through the talk box of like
a fast [Gbm] food drive-thru.
And then we have Brian Gibson's bass guitar, which he plays a lot more like [Gb] a traditional electric [B] guitar.
He's riffing, he's shredding, he's playing leads on the bass guitar, he's throwing tons
[Bb] of effects into the mix too, like reverbs and a loop pedal [E] distortion.
And all of these things have been [Gb] improved upon and sort of finely tuned as Lightning
Bolt progressed from Ride the [Ab] Skies to Earthly [Eb] Delights.
The drumming, the vocals, the bass loops, and the layers actually got so [A] intense on
[Bb] the album Hyper Magic Mountain when that album first came out, [B] I had to stop playing it because
[A] I kept [Gb] giving myself [Eb] migraine headaches.
[Gb] And even though their music [B] is seriously intense, there's something kind of [G] fun and absurd [Gb] and
demented [F] about it too.
Now even though I do love the [Bb] sound of Lightning Bolt, I love the idea [Bbm] behind this [F] duo.
It's a [Cm] sound that I imagine is pretty difficult [Am] to stretch out for five records.
[Dbm] But despite the delay, despite the doubt, I still went into this record [Ab] with high hopes.
I mean, with nearly every Lightning Bolt album I kind of [Gb] go into it wondering what they're
gonna do next to keep their sound and keep their [Abm] style entertaining, and they've always
managed to pull through.
And with this new [B] record here, at their core they're really still the same [G] band delivering
a lot of the same trademark sounds.
The grimy, roaring bass guitar, intense drumming, fuzzed out, brittle vocals, all thrown together
in a whirlwind of psych punk noise insanity.
[Bbm] Over the runtime of this album, Lightning Bolt manages to toss in a [Abm] few new or different
ideas, [Ab] but maybe the most grueling thing about this record [B] at first listen if you are a Lightning
[Bb] Bolt fan [Eb] is that it's not [Bb] quite as heavy or [G] densely layered [Abm] as their more recent efforts.
This record definitely has a rarer aesthetic [B] but still packs a lot of punch.
[Abm] Maybe not quite as raw or as noisy as Oblivion Hunter, but not as overdubbed and [B] as tightly
put together and as flashy [Ab] as an album [Gb] like Hyper Magic Mountain.
It seems like on [Ab] this new record here, Lightning Bolt is really trying to [Gb] keep this record
afloat with some great intense [Db] performances.
This LP kicks off with The Metal [A] East, which features these [B]
rolling bass triplets and this
[A] driving snare [B] drum.
There are these little ascending and [A] descending melodies in between [Ab] these verses of frenzied vocals.
And for [Eb] the most part it really sounds [B] like Lightning Bolt as usual, aside from kind of
a weird high [Bbm]-pitched noisy chaotic [A] freak out in the middle of the song and a point [Eb] toward
the end of the [F] track where I think we're getting like a weird keyboard riff or [B] something.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Gb] this sound came from Brian's bass as well, but there is something
kind of synthetic about the sound that kind of struck me like, [G] oh I've never [Gb] really heard
this sound in a Lightning Bolt song before.
But it [G] lasts such a short while that it really [Gb] doesn't leave an impact for me on the [F] song
as a whole.
[C] Despite a [B] couple of novel ideas, again this track just feels [A] like Lightning Bolt by [Bbm] the
numbers, which makes me wonder.
I'm not sure if stripping [G] things back was kind of the best [Gb] idea for this record because
it's not like alternatively they've kind of found a [A] new [Gb] avenue or [G] kind of a [Bb] new direction
to go in with this simpler [Bbm] approach.
There are some longer cuts on here that might number up to [B] six or eleven minutes where the
playing gets a little more chaotic.
[A] There might be some more psychedelic effects in the mix like with the epic closer Snow
[Abm] White or the very thick and chaotic [Bbm] Dream Genie.
And the song Over the River and Through [Ab] the Woods as well, which is actually one of my
favorite tracks here [Gb] until the point where the entire groove of the song [E] changes and
it feels [Gb] like Brian Gibson starts delivering this kind of basic, straightforward, dancey
bass riff that sounds like [F] something off of a Death From Above record.
At which point the [Abm] song really starts to drag.
The shorter [Gb] cuts on here are more straightforward, more concise, pack some energy, but [C] maybe
the riff writing isn't the [B] best that Lightning Bolt has [A] ever delivered.
I love the galloping groove of the song Horsepower, but without a fantastic riff [Gb] to ride that
groove because we're really [G] kind of getting one note [Gbm] riding this groove a lot of the time.
It gets a little [B] redundant.
This song makes me think back to older Lightning Bolt cuts like [Gb] Two Towers where [Ab] for a majority
of the track, minutes at [B] a time, we're like getting this [A] one riff, this one groove, and
yet Lightning Bolt found [Gbm] ways to kind of keep [A] it [Bb] intense, keep it interesting, [B] keep
it hypnotic [Bb] just by varying [A] the groove slightly as they continued to play it.
And of course Wonderful Rainbow's incredibly crushing [Ab] sound helped keep [Gb] that track interesting too.
A [Ab] crushing sound, an extremely [Gb] crushing sound [Ab] that I don't think [Gb] this record [C] quite has.
There are also ideas I like from the song King of My World like [B] the fluttering [G] lead
melodies [Abm] all over this track and the intense wall [A] of sound that accompanies them and the
jagged drum [Gb] beat, but this song just takes so long to get going [Bb] and once these [Ab] fluttering
melodies and the wall of sound introduce themselves, they just kind of pop [A] in with no real tension
or [Bb] build or anything.
This just feels like a really [Gb] weakly assembled track.
Thankfully, the song Rift High on Skid kind [Ab] of picks things up [A] with an interesting, dynamic
sound, some really primal, [Ab] low-key drum beats and quiet [A]
chants, some [F] droney bass, and then
all of a sudden blast beats and [A] loud riffs [C] and _ ARGHHHHHHHHH.
I also love the fluttering [B] ascending delayed [A] intervals toward the end of this track _
_ _ _ Another [Bb] example of a sharp idea on [F] this record of which I think there are many on this album
They're just not [A] encased into some of lightening bolt's best songs
But really I only feel [Gb] that way about the first half of this album [Abm] the second half of this LP
I actually think [G] makes for a great lightening [Bb] bolt record.
It's fast.
It's frenzied.
It's sonically intense
The performances are great.
Lightning Bolt proves they're still one of the most unique [Am] bands in noise rock,
even if [Gb] _ unintentionally they sort of show how limited [F] their sound is.
I'm feeling a light to decent 7 [B] on this LP.
Tran.
_ Zishen, if you've given this album a listen, what did you [Dbm] think of it?
Did you love it?
Did you [A] hate it?
Why?
[G] What do you think I should review next?
And that's it.
Anthony Fantano.
_ Lightning Bolt.
_ _ Fantasy