Lightning Bolt

Possibly one of the loudest bands to have ever walked the earth, Lightning Bolt is the drums/bass duo of Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson. Their music is a sonic bombardment that runs at a frenetic pace, with both instruments on full blast. There is often not a lot of breathing space or highs and lows in their music, but it is loaded with a sense of immediacy and a pure display of power that treats performance as an endurance sport. That said, there is some melodic intent to their pieces, which becomes more noticeable after their first few albums. It is a remarkable partnership between the two leads, especially in the way they stay locked in despite the fundamentally improvisational nature of their creation. The band employs vocals as well, though Chippendale's voice is intentionally garbled and buried in the mix, so it is near impossible to make out the words.