Wonderful Rainbow

Have no idea why they late this as "punk" - that is an insult to a strong genre. I would place this in its own class as L.A.A.R.D- Loud Angry Aimless Repetitive Dribble. What am I missing? [side note: this has been a shitty week of selections. 5th album in a row that I could not get anything to rate higher than a 2] 1032/1102. They keep adding on albums... I'll never get through them...

I’m good, no thanks. This made me feel like a dog being rhythmically attacked by one of those high-pitched plastic beepers.

Horrible!

One of the more literal takes on "noise rock" in this project. Weirdly it does work in parts, and there is something fun about two guys just jamming like crazy for 40 minutes. But this is not an accessible album at all; I found myself enjoying the more cohesive parts, but the album would lose me as it devolved into formless distortion. Top tracks: 2 Towers, Crown of Storms

I can honestly say this would probably never have passed my eardrums if not for this list and I can’t imagine any situation in my life that would be enhanced by it in the future. 2

I'm getting a little tired of these "endurance test" albums. I think sometimes the idea that you should hear this before you die isn't really accurate - it's a book of albums that were important in some way when they were released, and not necessarily meant to be listened to by EVERYONE before they die. In my very humble opinion, Dimery should consider either recalibrating his list or changing the title. Anyways. That being said. Some of this was kind of fun to listen to. But Lightning Bolt doesn't want this to be fun to listen to, so they bludgeon you to death with a repetitive noisy sequence over and over and over for a few minutes, and then they switch to a new repetitive noisy sequence and play that over and over and over, ad nauseum. I'm really not sure if anyone legitimately enjoys listening to this. If they do, they're a braver man than I. TWO STARS

I have never heard of Lightning Bolt before this album, and I think I can see why. It’s not what I consider good music.

++: Assassins, Dracula Mountain, 2 Towers, Longstockings, Wonderful Rainbow, Duel in the Deep +: Hello Morning, On Fire, Crown of Storms, 30,000 Monkies 8,5/10

Per Dimery himself, "a mix of sheer abuse and welcome diversity, for a truly challenging listening experience". It's noise rock, so I'll check the reviews afterwards. I expect this to be sub-2 on average. It starts out catchy as hell, though. Loud, fuzzy, infectious instrumental music with a shockingly positive vibe. This reminds me of some of Do Make Say Think's later work -- 'Crown of Storms', in particular, reminds me of a couple of themes from DMST's record, Stubborn Persistent Illusions, though not quite as intricately arranged. I think this may be my most controversial review. I completely love this. It's not quite profound enough for 5/5 but it's a very strong 4/5 for me.

I actually enjoyed this. Like a lot. Like way more than I should for an album that is bottom ten in the rankings. Loud and noisy in the ways I really enjoyed and only annoying part of the time. Definitely going to listen to again at some point. 9/10

Good stuff, noisy which is probably a turnoff for a lot of folks

Loved it

This is a grand old racket. I've long had an affection for the two Brians' Lightning Bolt (and even more for Brian Chippendale's solo project Black Pus). Exhilarating stuff!

Goes hard

Great

Great, didn't know this one as well as their later ones but equally good

hectic.

Gonna listen to this on the plane and have a panic attack

I’ve now learned about another new genre I never knew existed in music because of this list - noise rock. What’s that old saying? Ignorance is bliss?

Ummm…I worked in the Entertainment business for close to 30 years and I’ve never heard anything as distracting as that. …and I say that having sat through countless sound checks before a concert. Noise Rock?!?! Who came up with that term?? I feel good about leaving the word “rock” off the title and just calling it noise. Hard, hard, hard pass.

I can’t believe these two guys are allowed to make this much noise without their parents opening the basement door and yelling at them.

This literally gave me a headache.

No va

не думал что мне такое понравится бодрая шумная инструментальная музыка чувакам можно было даже не петь расширяет ли музыкальные познания? да задает настроение? да буду ли переслушивать? да какой в этом заложен смысл? не знаю, у меня вполне укладывается в голове что это тоже музыка и искусство 3.4

I love heavy & loud. Not sure if this was trying to be heavy or what. It just sounded like play as fast as you can on every song.

I already knew and loved this album, it's got that complexity that makes my brain tingle in all the right ways. Happy to have spent a day with it.

Ooh a new band, have never got involved previously as their reputation precedes them.....and much like Blast Beats. Some things just aren't for me... Was it wr9ng to avoid ? Ooh this owes a debt to Ministry doesnt it...it certainly clears the cobwebs, and perhaps just as well that I waited until after work to.liste ln, a sunday morning coffee album this is not... Trying to think of something to say other than, fuck this is noisy. 3 tracks in and i an already checking how many more to go. 7 It's not bad when they turn it down a bit and lessen the assault.. Track 4 is making me smile, not sure why...the Ministry comparison is still standing up. ...toes starting to tap.. thank God its in 4/4 otherwise it would be mayhem.. Track 5 is rather nice too....once you've tuned in/warmed up this is good. They clearly having a fun time... which is possibly all that matters.. Track 6..love the piccolo snare, it really cuts through.. . Track 7, this is more like stuff that I actually.listen to...oops maybe not it's collapsed into chaos. Track 8, a bit of a palate cleanser. Track 9. Back to the full throttle silliness...well titled. .. Travk 10. Ok so I actually rather enjoyed this, perhaps a little too aggressive for repeated listening and there is no way on earth I can give this the same score that Sgt Pepper received, and I am not as likely to.put in on when aged parents visit. 3 stars.....

Phew. On the one hand I really enjoyed it. On the other I breathed with a sigh of relief once it had finished. Maybe this wasn't the ideal backdrop to resolving quite difficult technical problems at work. I'm never really going to reach for this voluntarily, but I enjoyed my time with it. On Fire will make it on to my alt rock playlist too. Hard to mark, but taking it as much as i can on its own terms, I think a 3 is reasonable.

Sans etoile en vrai 🤣

Prehučalo to. Nie je to celkom moja predstava o hudbe, ale páči sa mi koncept basa, bicie.

This is a unique and I want to say pure rock album. Glad I listened to it.

Noisy! But enjoyable enough. 2.3, rounding to 3. Favorite Tracks: Crown of Storms

Every Werewolf Has His Day 1001 Albums Generator 377 (10/22/2026) This is some fire noise rock. Lightning Bolt is just a bassist and a drummer, but the guitar is not missed here. The way that the bass is used is very melodic and distorted, and the drums just go absolutely crazy throughout. I can understand why the vocals might annoy some people, but they are mixed like a heavily distorted guitar, so I just hear them as an extra layer on the music. 4/5. Favs: Assassins Dracula Mountain 2 Towers Least Fav: Duel in the Deep

A noise.

This review is from a Dream Theater fan The opening 50 seconds is the worst 50 seconds ever, Then it gets really good hen the bassist presses all 80 distortion pedals Peak: whole album

I don't recognize this artist nor any of the tracks by title, so I'm going into this blind. I'm digging this. I can totally see how this would be considered an acquired taste, and lucky for me it's a taste I've acquired. I'll be adding this to my list of albums to listen to again, and will likely be checking out more by Lightning Bolt.

Niet mijn ding

The audio equivalent of Stockholm syndrome by frontal lobotomy

Yeees! Now we are talking! I can guess without even looking this will be terribly rated but I adore noise rock and have spun the bolt a few times previously. ------------ Carefully curated cacophony. What a delightful wall of sound! Pick a hook and iterate. Reminds me of one of my favourite bands [The Mad Capsule Markets] who are out of Japan (and almost certainly not on here!) Reading the wiki they are inspired by Japanese noise rock - so that all fits. The drums are fantastic. Literally mind-blowing. As a drummer this drills down to my primal, rhythmic core and makes me MOVE. It will get 5 stars for this alone. Generally drums are an afterthought in a lot of the music we've had so far, so it is a real treat to have them front and centre. The guitar work follows the rhythmic nature of the band, with fuzzy looping rhythm. It's tuned like a Cello and run through so many pedals and effects it is barely recognisable. This is not for everyone - but it is for me! 5* top track: DRACULA MOUNTAIN - oh my god. This is kinda breakcore-y. This is the best song I've heard out of 130+ albums. Primal, hypnotic, powerful.

While I definitely love this album, and the experimentation and noise choices never get in the way of creating cohesive songs, this is also a protest vote related to other reviewers on this site. Really? Experimentation like this is too much, but Pink Floyd's is fine, even if Dark Side of the Moon ia half tone poem without any cohesive structure? Queen gets a pass for their ambitions despite the fact a majority of time they fall flat? Metallica is given good ratings on their live album, which barely sounds like Metallica or classical music? And finally you have an album that is experimental, tries to do something different but still sounds mostly cohesive and sane and it's lambasted as an endurance test? By people who probably gave London Calling 5/5? Fuck off. (I should say that I really like Dark Side of the Moon, don't care for Queen's albums but love their hits, and have learnt I hate Metallica.) Anyway, this album is great. Will listen again when I need to stay awake at an airport or go for a run. Or just to blast it and piss my neighbours off. Who knows?

Now we’re talking. Can’t play this album loud enough.

Did not think it would sound like that judging by the title Wonderful Rainbow (complimentary)

Lightning Bolt walked so Angine de Poitrine could run. "On Fire" gets closest to their magnum opus "13 Monsters" but I'm happy they're here nonetheless. 5 keepers in 10 (50%). 50

Peculiar to say the least but kinda unique has some other bands influences

Removed Album #45 (List: https://pastebin.com/cSThNiK9) From the Vault #52 (May 15, 2026) Wow, look at that rating distribution. It was the first thing that caught my eye when I clicked on the page for this album. Fortunately, I averted my gaze from the genre section as that would involve cheating on my much-esteemed genre prediction segment. Anyways, this is the 12th lowest-rated album on the list at the time of writing, and that can only mean one thing. Between Kollaps (great album btw), Duck Stab (great album btw if that matters) and They Were Wrong, So We Drowned, it's clear that the users of this website are PUSSIES. PUSSIES, I TELL YA. If I were to remove my bias as squadron commander of the Duck Stab Defence Force, however, it's clear that many of the lowest-rated albums on this list incorporate harsh and noncommercial sounds into their pastiche. Understandable, I suppose, though it is frustrating to see the more interesting and unique albums of the list getting dogpiled. I'm not sure what this album could be outside of an experimental and non-commercial release. The year of release is what's throwing me. It couldn't be shoegaze, it couldn't be industrial and it doesn't look like a noise rock album, either. I'm leaning into either a challenging electronic album or experimental rock. I'll hedge my bets on electronic - the album cover has more of that look to it. Here goes. Nope, noise rock. I guess this is me getting my comeuppance for chastising the good people of this website, as I sadly wasn't into this album. I do like harsh noise, but the melodies of this album alternate between being either too repetitious or too unruly for my liking. There's never a happy in-between where the conflicting sounds and styles of this album merge into a greater whole, which I think is its single biggest flaw. There's also the matter of these songs overstaying their welcome and the distant vocals being a little irritating, but those are only niggling gripes of mine. While I wasn't all that into this music and thought the lack of variety hurt the final product, it very strangely had a monopoly on my attention. The predictable, yet frenetic nature of this music kept me nodding my head all the way through, which isn't something that can be said about most albums. Overall, I have a bit of an odd respect for this album because of how different it is, though I don't think the material is strong enough for me to consider putting it on again. Time to figure out why this album was removed from future editions of the book. Let's see. Included in the original 1001 lineup and pulled from either the 2013 or 2016 editions of the book (I don't have a scan of 2013). The entry for this album says that Lightning Bolt are "Quite possibly the most notorious bass/drum noise rock duo to come from Rhode Island." I don't think it's a matter of odds on that front. "Lightning Bolt does not so much play music as inflict it upon the listener in a barrage of technical noise." Their second album - "Ride the Skies" - established the band and was widely talked about on indie music forums. Wonderful Rainbow is more toned down and accessible by comparison. The entry closes out by calling this album a "...truly challenging listening experience." Wikipedia says this album was well-received by critics, though that's just about it. So, why was this album removed? Once again, I think it's self-evident. Lightning Bolt aren't prominent, harsh noise has a limited appeal and this brand of noise rock exists on its own island, not really influencing or being influenced by other genres of music. That being said, I'm willing to stick my neck out for this album. It's certainly a unique pick that I'm grateful for having listened to before I died, though I think the curators of this list kind of pussied out by nominating what appears to be their most accessible album. I'm thinking we switch this album out with Hypermagic Mountain - the band's follow-up which appears to be their most well-received release. I switcharoo this inclusion.

Hm this was not for me

Wikipedia described this as their most accessible album. Not sure I agree

Hard charging right out of the gate. Not sure I enjoyed it, but it did not suck. Same on song 2. But now, it's tiring. This remained the case for the album. Loud, high energy, but more like metal energy than punk energy.

Not for me

3.9

Awful. Insult to noise

This is complete garbage. 1 star or F-.

Echoes of Krautrock in there somewhere but this is too extreme for me - thanks anyway!

A complex and organized structure of noise that also sounds fun

Blippy, grindy, Intensy

Well I would have guessed this was something emd thing not a wall of sound type record. Its alot. I think anyone can see that, like it or not. Its relentless just blasting off consistently from start to finish. There are some moments of cool ideas here and there. They're in there, you just gotta dig some. Mostly its alot of noise. And im generally ok with that. Im just looking for some more cool moments to peek out from the wall of sound. Just not all that many for me. Which is why I wouldn't say I like this. But I also dont hate it. Ive heard worse thats for sure. Its just such a small payoff for blasting my eardrums for 45 minutes to have 5minutes of cool shit. And I get that its supposed to be challenging and whatnot. Im not intimidated by that I just dont love alot of it. And love is the key word. I just sorta get on with it well enough and thats that. Im not coming back to listen to any of this but I see the value even if it doesnt do much fir me. Its ok. I'll be happy to have something else but I like that others get it more

Crap

a lot of work to listen, but I was head bopping to just about every song

I somehow have never actually listened to this or I've forgotten about it. Probably forgotten about it.

Noise

A real alternative listen. Here and then some nice tunes. And especially with some nice base-guitar-work. But a whole album of this kind is far too much for me. 1,5

That was rough

There’s a raw brutality to this that certainly has its appeal—I imagine to the right kind of disillusioned teen, moshing to this would be euphoric. Ultimately, it doesn’t do much for me, but I feel like it’s a worthwhile inclusion.

Sure. There’s plenty of emotion, I can hear the logic behind the noise. It sounds intentional, and honestly that’s the best I’ve got.

“30.000 Monkeys” and “2 Towers” are absolute hardline obnoxious “noiserock” gems… it’s better than some stuff out there but does require a specific state of mind to suffer through.

This is a less intense melt banana album

Interesting

I know this is not for everyone, but this is an amazing album for the musicianship and does exactly what it is going for in a way that is not quite like any other band or album. The intensity and unpredictable nature combine with the variety of sounds and the amazing, unparalleled drumming makes this a stand out album. I'd give it 4.5 stars but am rounding up to 5.

It's not particularly interesting. I always find noise bands kind of try hard, like, ooh look how abrasive we are, bet you normies can't handle this (puts 5 effects pedals on and hits bass with beer bottle). Some of it is okay, probably sounds cool at a live show, but in an album it's just kind of irritating and paradoxically quite boring. Like listening to different variations of vacuum cleaner with drums.

Meh

Yeah, I just couldn't get into it. I don't like jam bands very much, because I prefer music with vocals and this is pretty much that except in hard rock form. I can definitely get the talent, it just wasn't for me.

Noise rock is a good description

Inte min grej men har väl hört värre

Ibland är älskar jag verkligen genren "duktiga musiker som gör oljud". Dock inte i detta fall. Det kanske inte var en helt rättvis lyssning att sätta på albumet medan jag jobbar, men jag är inte särskilt sugen på att lyssna om det i en annan kontext. Svag 2a.

Fett! Aldrig hört innan men glad över denna upptäckt.

Riktigt rökiga riff och kul ös! Oväntat bra! Stor inspiration för inställningen på fuzzpedalen

Det här var svårt att lyssna på för Dino

Day 407 My submitted album has a really low average score so I completely understand that music is subjective but fuck me this was absolute dogshit Highlights When it finished.

Noise rock? Oh joy. According to Wikipedia, this is "generally considered to be their most accessible album." We shall see... First song: OK, this isn't so bad... Second song kicks in: Ummm... Not only did I not need to hear this before I die, I don't think ANYONE needs to. I question the sanity of anyone who enjoys this. Cool album cover though. And "Dracula Mountain" is a great song title. I do not care to go back and listen to the other candidates to confirm, but about a quarter of the way through the 7-minutes-long "2 Towers," it occurred to me that I think this is the worst album I have listened to so far in this project (this is album #460 for me.) At that point I became aware of the headache it had caused. And I had already turned it down twice from the normal volume I listen to these albums. It seems like it was intentionally designed to cause discomfort. If so, well done! On any other album, "Crown of Storms" would sound like pure noise. On this album, it is like a welcome, melodic respite from the previous four songs. I do not like this at all. The easiest 1-star decision I've made yet. Best review I saw on the community reviews page: "I will never again tell people that I enjoy all forms of music."

Nei takk

There is some melody to this, but for the most part it's an annoying piece of shit racket.

Never listened. Expectations: None - Verdict: Great - Wow! Assassins knocked me out. This reminds me a lot of noise gigs I've been to but I'm not sure I have ever heard it translate quite so well on record. Dracula Mountain continues in a similarly punishing vein. The bass guitar on 2 Towers sounds absolutely huge and On Fire falls apart beautifully. Crown Of Storms is probably my least favourite track so far but it still rocks. Longstockings is far less noisy at first but that just makes it more interesting in the context of the album. When it does get messier in the latter stages of the track it is chaotic and stuttering. The title track is essentially an interlude but sits nicely within the album. 30,000 Monkies brings back the chaos in one of the least structured tracks so far. Duel In The Deep finishes things in an intense, relentless fashion. This was a really, really good listen and an album that I will definitely be returning to.

Charming noise and racket! Close enough to four stars that I can round up.

On to good side of one I guess.

Unexpected, semi violent and disturbing. Interesting though....

Loud!

So bloody noisy, loved it

Beautiful, punchy chaos. It really grabbed me in the beginning. Assassins is a great track and I think captures the whole mood. 3.9/5.0

While I think I prefer Fantasy Empire, this is a fantastic noise rock album. Do wish it were a little less repetitive and more catchy, but yeah. Overall, great record.

If that's Lightning Bolt's "most accessible" work, I don't want to go near their other albums. It seems "Wonderful Rainbow" was made to cause headaches. You shouldn't listen to "Wonderful Rainbow" in its entirety unless you want your ears to suffer. However, it isn't 100% agony; there's great guitar work in "Wonderful Rainbow". "Assassins" and the title track are gems in an oil spill. 2 stars for "Wonderful Rainbow".

Boy howdy I sure did not like this.

My ears have been abused.

Not so much music as noise. But I've been pissed off lately and it kinda matches my mood, so it gets two stars instead of 1.

So I woke up really early and figured I’ll stick my headphones in and chill until the alarm goes off. This is absolutely not a lie in bed and chill album lol. It is bloody good though. It took me a couple of tracks to get into it but about halfway through Dracula Mountain it clicked. It’s definitely one I’ll be going back to. Top Track - 2 Towers

Could be considered rock, definitely considered noise. If you like lots of random noises and squealing, you'll like this. I don't and I didn't. That being said, not the worst thing on this list and must have taken some creativity to make somewhat listenable. 1.5/5

I so wanted to like it - and it has some good pulls - but it was just a little too out there to consider a relisten.

Started to listen to this but thought it was a load of crap so gave up

This should be on the list of albums not to listen to. Utter shite.

Nonsense noise

What on earth is this. Worst album so far?