990WBOB
  • WBOB Radio
  • Crush Cancer
  • Past Casts
  • Weather
  • Contact
  • About
    • WBOB Press Releases
    • Join Our Team!
    • CHARITY GALA

Rob's Album of The Week: Lightning Bolt's Oblivion Hunter

9/24/2012

Comments

 
Picture
Through helping to start the groundbreaking artist & music performance space Fort Thunder in the Olneyville section of Providence from the mid 1990s until the early 2000s, touring constantly, making every record they've done in a pure DIY format and promising to put on one of the most insane live performances you've ever seen, noise band Lightning Bolt has made quite the case for being the most important band in the Providence music scene for the past 15 years. A mind-blowing sound that combines Brian Gibson's crazily distorted bass and numerous pedals along with Brian Chippendale's seismic displays on the drums and screaming into a microphone thats attached to a homemade pro wrestling mask, Lightning Bolt will definitely shock you with their amazing sound that's nearly impossible to compare anything to. They have their sixth studio album out, Oblivion Hunter, and it's definitely one of the best albums I've listened to so far this year.

Loud, intense, raucous, no holds barred is the best way I can describe how Lightning Bolt's music sounds like. A crazy combination of the avant-garde nothingness of No Wave bands like Mars, DNA and James Chance & The Contortions, punk rhythms of bands like Black Flag, Minor Threat and Discharge and the free jazz tinges influenced by artists like Sun Ra and Ornette Coleman form together in a mashed up slush of chaos and pandemonium to create what is Lightning Bolt. The new record is the result of a bunch of recording sessions Chippendale and Gibson did back in 2008 and it shows a band progressing more and more, almost at an infinite pace. Horns, bleeps and other assorted effects mix in with the feverish drums, loudspeaker-esque voice of Chippendale and the raw shredding of Gibson's bass to spawn the sound that makes the duo so legendary across the world.

- Rob Duguay

Now here comes the hard part, that time again where I pick my favorite tracks off of the record. It's always a difficult task to say the least but at the same time the music lover in me feels like I'm in a golden palace of wonder. If Oblivion Hunter is a golden palace though, it's always tough when you have to pick your favorite gems when every gem is as beautiful as the next. Well, you know where I'm getting at: "Oblivion Balloon" has Gibson's bass hitting your ear buds like a wrecking ball destroying a brick building with Chippendale's spine-tingling drum skills guaranteeing to make your head spin in classic fashion. "Fly Fucker Fly" shows the spectacular syncopation Gibson and Chippendale have while performing together, it's pure audial gold when Gibson kicks it up a notch with his bass and makes it sound like he's playing electric guitar along with it when he's not. "King Candy" is ultra-sludgy and pulsating, with Gibson's bass getting heavier and heavier and Chippendale's drumming getting faster and faster. "Baron Wasteland" uses a lot of effects and Chippendale just shrieking into his mic while he's hammering the drums and Gibson using numerous pedals to go along with his bass, a great clash of loud and quiet. As I always say, don't just be lame and take my word as gospel without doing something about it. Get yourself a copy of Oblivion Hunter if you know what's good for you.

Lightning Bolt just finished up a 34-date tour of the United States in support of Oblivion Hunter that started at The Rock 'N Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C. on August 21st and ended last night at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston. Fanatics in Providence got a chance to see Lightning Bolt at the Providence Underground Freak Fest Eco Rave Shaman Slam 2 (Also known as PUFFERS) this past Saturday in the old factory district of Olneyville where they played in the middle of the street in front of over 1,000 people. Even though they play shows sporadically nowadays and the best way to find out when Lightning Bolt is playing next is through word of mouth, the live experience of seeing Lightning Bolt live is absolutely worth the wait. Until Lightning Bolt graces your favorite venue, pick up a copy of Oblivion Hunter. It'll take your eardrums places where they've never been before.


Comments

    WBOB
    Original
    ​Reads

    Picture

    Unbiased, Unfiltered. WBOB's Original Reads feature our brightest and boldest personalities, offering their two-cents on the goings on of news, sports, politics, entertainment, and business. -- Are our opinions always PC? Nope. Are they always perfect? Nah. But, are they always 100% authentic? Absolutely!


    LISTEN
    ​TO WBOB ORIGINAL PODCASTS

    Picture
    Listen to
    ​Past BOBCasts

    WBOB 
    Best Reads
    Brought To You By
    TripAdvisor.com

    Picture

    Celebrating David Clyde: A Wild Passionate Friend To All


    Picture

    Search 
    The Archives


    Reads From Our Friends

    Picture

    The Best Game Development Tools: How to Make Your Own Game


    Contact Us
    [email protected]


    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

Search For Your Favorite WBOB Author,
​or BobCast

990WBOB 
An Independent Media Outlet.

The views opinions and thoughts expressed do not  reflect those of 990WBOB, its management or its staff. All Rights Reserved 990WBOB.com 2007-2020
​
Contact WBOB HERE
Photo from nzhamstar
  • WBOB Radio
  • Crush Cancer
  • Past Casts
  • Weather
  • Contact
  • About
    • WBOB Press Releases
    • Join Our Team!
    • CHARITY GALA