Brian Gibson plays a bass that may as well be a guitar, crunching incredibly fast riffs through a field of deafeningly loud squeals and glitches, tons of feedback compressed into a thick wall of noise, making what is normally defined metal sound tame; and Brian Chippendale plays drums, his performance being nothing short of devastating, without any exaggeration, but still technically very precise and tight.

The relentless spew of violence, that rips the crowd apart with it’s compressed and insane volume, makes Lightning Bolt a demanding gig, especially on the eardrums. The only brief moments of pause break in when the drums step back, allowing the bass to grind and chug solo, then the two return to lay down bass-and-cymbal stomps all the way up to a belting climax, the sort of crescendo that makes a room stop, bang their heads, and kick back to the mayhem, almost finishing over the band.

Their often cited experimental ethos is particularly evident in the intentional lack of control over noise, allowing it to run wild and chaotic; eschewing many conventions, from the stage presence to the monstrous volume, the level of distortion is so high that you could consider Gibson’s bass more as a sound weapon than an instrument, capable of inducing adrenaline rushes and palpitations, aiming at the audience’s physical resistance.

On many things I usually agree with my mate Tom: and this evening made no difference, we both left with similar feelings. This was one of the best gigs in town this year, the best since Acid Mothers Temple and Ruins’ New Japanese Music Festival at the Bloom. Too fast to define, too loud to pass by without leaving bruises.

This isn’t your average live set, it’s what this city needs more of, brutally hammering away at the established boredom that seems to have made bullshit fashion the town’s only creative resource. With a towering set of amps stacked up behind their backs, Lightning Bolt left us with a memorable slab of devastation we long awaited.

Lightning Bolt
Date: 10th October, 2004
Place: COX
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