Wonderful Rainbow

I was downloading this as I boarded a plane so I could listen on the flight. It barely completed downloading before the door was shut and we were on our way. Without internet I had no inkling of what it was I was about to listen to. Somewhere over Idaho around the third “song” the plane encountered rough turbulence. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to be the last album I hear. The thought started making me giggle. And as the cacophony continued in my headphones the plane bounced more intensely and drinks were spilled and I giggled harder and odd uncomfortable looks were coming my way. If only I could be playing this over the plane’s PA... a vision that turned my giggling into open laughter. If you’re reading this then it would seem I survived both the flight and listening to this album. I was on the verge of awarding this my second ever 1 star rating. Then again, it did manage to give my flight a mad tea party vibe. I also really love the album cover. “Wonderful Rainbow” is a great title against the soundscape it presents. No, this will not be joining my lowest rated album even though I likely will never make it through the whole album ever again.

A conversation from the mid-2000s: The White Stripes - "Ooooooo look how much noise we make with only two people." Death From Above 1979 - "But we make even more noise with two people so there!" Lightening Bolt - "Hold my pint..."

You know that old saying that if you give an infinite number of monkeys an infinite number of typewriters, they will eventually write the complete works of Shakespeare? Well, in this case, they were given a drum kit, and a bass guitar. And the result was not Shakespeare.

Ridiculously fun and energetic, a missing link between metal and dance. Like throwing a box of firecrackers into a bonfire. One of the best discoveries I've made here, I just wish I'd been into them at the time.

Incredible. It's like the rhythm is hanging on by a thread and they keep trying to cut it with a saw. Definitely best played loud, but it isn't just noise. There is real music in there. This is what I listen to this list for. Something completely new.

Alright, but that's enough of that.

Don't know what it says about me but I'm able to focus on task at while listening to this. I'll listen again along with the genre.

I lived in Providence in 2003-2004, just after this album was released. I had moved there from Lawrence, Kansas, a cozy college town, home to a healthy indie music scene. When I arrived in Providence though, I quickly realized the musical landscape was quite a bit different from what I was used to - mainly that it seemed to center around semi-secretive warehouse shows, which were mostly noise and metal acts. One of the main record stores in town, Armageddon Shop, even focused pretty much exclusively on those two genres, and they are still able to survive to this day doing just that! Shows you how hungry people are for extreme music in Providence. This is largely due to the presence of the Rhode Island School of Design attracting folks who think WAYYY outside the box. Many of the bands there started as more or less performance pieces, and they generally have a strong visual component as a part their show. Check out Lightning Bolt drummer and RISD alum Brian Chippendale's artwork, he is a full fledged artist and illustrator in his own right. His style seems to complement the music in that he fills every possible space with intricate, almost overwhelming, detail. He drew the album cover for example. So, not only did the Providence scene have a sound, there was also a strong visual aesthetic as well, which seemed to mirror the music; being hyper-busy mutations of pop culture. Lightning Bolt were definitely the vanguard of the scene, being one of the main forces behind the Fort Thunder collective, whose physical space was unfortunately shut down shortly before I arrived in town. However, I was lucky enough to see a secret show of theirs before I moved away, and was converted to a lifelong fan during that experience. I have gone on to see them live several more times in various locations over the years. I see them every chance I get. And I'd recommend you do the same if you want to experience one of the most cathartic explosions of raw musical energy you will ever witness. Listening on earbuds isn't going to really do this justice. At the very least, try to play this at the loudest possible volume you can get away with on the largest speakers you have access to. When I first moved to Providence I was a little apprehensive about the music scene. It seemed somewhat intimidating to me coming from a background of fairly cozy indie rock and hip hop. A few punk house basement shows here and there was as wild as it got really. Noise and metal were two genres that I really hadn't explored yet, especially in a live setting. But eventually I was seduced, first by the artwork that surrounded it, and then by the music itself. It became clear to me that this was one of the most original and significant mutations in rock music I was going to witness in my lifetime. First, they strip everything down to its core (drums and bass with only occasional vocal punctuations), even the drum kit itself is stripped down to essentials. Then, they turn everything to 11: volume, distortion, and simply their own physical limits in terms of playing. It goes beyond punk and metal into transcendental art territory. Don't just listen to this either, look up a video of them playing on YouTube. The documentary "The Power of Salad" is a great introduction to the band. You will see that Brian Chippendale is the closest a human being can get to Animal from the Muppets. This shit is not just noise and cacaphony. They are tight as fuck and there are undeniable grooves underpinning everything. The album is like being shuffled instantly from one rollercoaster to another, to another, to another. You are left drained and woozy, but exhilarated. And the best part of all, to me at least, is that, as heavy as it may be, it isn't particularly dark music - it's more a sort of manic joy than anything. They are able to tap into an almost childlike wonder through the sheer power and intensity of their playing. I have to say though, it did take awhile for their sound to grow in me. And, had I not temporarily lived in the veritable heart of the US Noise scene, I might never have taken that time. In a way it was like exposure therapy or endurance training, but coming out on the other side, not only did I have a greater appreciation for heavier music, I had a greater appreciation for music in general. Listening to Lightning Bolt made me truly appreciate music itself as a sort of raw material - a transference of energy. It didn't blow my ears out, rather, it retrained them to hear nuances in things that I previously didn't think had any nuance whatsoever. It's the closest thing to taking a musical drug that I've ever experienced, besides maybe some of Steve Reich's early works. Lightning Bolt and others from that scene expanded my palette and gave me more stamina and patience to listen to the expression of the music itself, rather than fixate on things like words or beauty. Their sound might stop you in your tracks, but if you can overcome that impulse to immediately flee, you could be rewarded with powerful, even liberating feelings, that you might not be able to access otherwise. Lightning Bolt are aptly named, they are a force of nature.

2/10. Probably the least wonderful rainbow I've experienced. It was like someone took the noise of unplugging your earbuds in the middle of a song and made that into a whole damn album. There are definitely some bits where there is a bit of an interesting beat going, but not enough to redeem it in my eyes.

Love this album. Lightning Bolt are one of the best live bands I've ever seen. Complete chaos. This is probably their best album too.

Genuinely who the fuck is this shit for

Never heard of them. Went in blind. Ooooh, yeah, vibes. Love this. Instantly reminded of And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead. Not sure why you'd bother with the vocal track except as possibly a hint? It's def growing on me. Crown of Thorns had an AC/DC guitar riff vibe to it. Fun! Okay, yep. Def an Elaine album. Certainly not for everyone, but I'm down with a well-done noise rock album for background music.

3.5 - Fine as far as noise rock goes but hardly the most interesting, groundbreaking or truly excellent record of this genre. Dimery seems to have a blind spot for Japanese artists, otherwise Boredoms' "Super Ae" would be a much better noise rock selection that's weirder and more fun. Also more original since it was released 5 years prior to this record.

Unpleasant

A one-paced, incessant racket.

30 seconds in and I was miserable. How was I going to get through the whole thing? But after about 2 minutes something clicked and I really dug the groove. I like the mix of noise, chaos, metal, dance, and jazz. Moreover, unlike a lot of the more esoteric albums on this list, I feel like these guys are *talented*, *know what they are doing*, and most importantly *are having fun*. That mood really comes out and infects the listener. Don't know if I can go all the way to 4, but I'm in the high 3s for sure. Consider my interest piqued!

No melodies, no message, no heart, just soulless noise.

Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing

This album was shown to me in 2014 by the weirdest, nicest guy I ever knew in College. Shoutout to you, Pat! A challenging listen at times, but the bass grooves are sick and really get me into a rythym. More accessible than a lot of noise rock haha. It probably should be a four, but I'm rounding up for positive memories and my bias for cool bass.

No one has to hear this ever, let alone before they die....not music! Sounds like roadies checking the equipment at a 90's middle school talent show..bad

Honestly what the fuck is this doing on here. One of the ear grating, annoying albums I have ever had to listen to. The instrumentals would have been O.K. at best if they didn’t just loop for over 5 minutes at a time. Don’t even get me started about the little man drunkenly yelling into a megaphone on the lowest volume possible. What. the. FUCK! 1/10

Wonderful Rainbow might be the worst possible description for this album. There is no colour, no joy, nothing beautiful about it. It’s droning noise and distorted screaming. 2.7/10

SHACK has me locked in his bedroom. Help.

You haven’t lived until you’ve seen Lightning Bolt live. You think this record is noisy, chaotic and heavier than Brendan Fraser in The Whale? This is a mere appetizer for the insanity of a Lightning Bolt show.

Despite its label of "noise rock", this album never encourages the listener to tune out. The indistinguishable vocals aid the album in becoming a discordant parody of rock tropes. With enough fresh bizarre riffs and melodies to keep each track distinct from the last, the fun of this album is the chaos it creates, and seeing just what it will throw at you next.

Sounds like my brain is getting completely disintegrated in an atomic blast... in a good way. You know how people say that metal music makes them feel strong, like they could punch an elephant? This makes me feel like I should go to the nearest gym and ask to get punched in the face by the buffest guy there (again, in a good way).

Equally influenced by jazz as noise and punk. Inventive and brutal.

I love the density and noisyness of this album.

If entropy liked rock and could sing, it would sound like this

What a pleasant assault on the ears. I'd love to see these live just to watch the drummer. very tempted to give this a 5 but I think that might be a bit much.

A windblown furore of noise. The book describes it as being challenging to listen to. Couldn’t have said it better

This is one of the first really big Brutal Prog albums. If you ever wanted to know what it would sound like if Pink Floyd would go into the studio with way to many party drugs and cocaine in their body, this would be it. It blends the manic and chaotic Noise Rock with the even more manic and chaotic Brutal Prog and makes it even more complex by playing with some very, very uncommon time signatures. It's crazy to put it in simple words. Just crazy. And while crazy can be good, this often times doesn't do it right. There are a lot of moments where it's so chaotic and weird that it looses the structure and turn just boring. Other moments though, are so repetitive that they turn annoying. When I compare this to the Brutal Prog of the last years, mainly Black Midi's Hellfire, I know why this album here is still the start of the "big" rise of the genre. But even though some moments aren't that good, some are really strong and do exactly what the album promises. The album starts with the improvisational Noise intro 'Hello Morning' which is does start off the project fittingly and with a lot of sonic ideas that it will go on to further explore. But isn't even a minute long which results in it not really giving out a lot of great moments and turns out pretty stale. Maybe it's just that I am not really big on Noise yet but I actually slightly dislike this short intro just because it doesn't really do anything except start the album in a not really needed way. This intro transitions into the Noise Rock track 'Assassins' which brings in some Brutal Prog elements while also adding Post-Hardcore with a lot of very complex sounding structures. I really like the song when it goes wild at the start and later but the moments where it's just the same droning synths with not much extra just makes it boring and not even really interesting. It's not that I dislike it sonically, I just find half, if not more, simply boring and the great moments sprinkled throughout aren't enough to make it interesting which makes this a very average song. Luckily, 'Dracula Mountain' makes things a little more interesting. The song is sonically more diverse and while the vocals are burried deep in the Noise, I do like the feelings of darkness, fear and the overall surreal atmosphere that it gives the song. I do think that they could've added a tad bit more melodic parts to help the Noise not feel bland but I think the result is the chaotic and crazy sound that the album tries to create. It's a great song and one of the albums best. '2 Towers' goes heavier and even crazier with a lot of complex and avant-garde guitar playing added. This is probably the best that the album can offer because it's noisy, loud but complex and weird with a lot of crazy playing. I think that they could've mixed the drums a little bit louder and added more noise but apart from that, this is a fantastic track and easily an incredible one. The songwriting is repetitive but this time it uses it as an advantage to create a lot of tension similar to what Post-Punk often does. And because it has more melodic aspects and not just Noise, it does work much better and actually great. If they had repeated this pattern of songwriting of every song with new ideas of course, it would've turned out much better. The first half of the album ends with the slightly psychedelic 'On Fire' which plays with more avant-garde melodies once more and actually has some great and redeeming qualities. They sadly tuned back a lot of the Noise but that leaves room for more melodies which does help the songs structure. I think the song turned out great, even incredible because I don't have much negative to say about it. The second side of the record is opened by 'Crown of Storms' which starts with more Avant-Garde and adds some Noise Rock until the vocals set in again. I do really like what they did on this track and the great mix of all of these ideas and weird concepts and sounds is magnificant. This is another incredible track with some really interesting and wonderful moments that do really do what they album tries and on top of that has slight but noticable variation. As if the rest wasn't weird enough, 'Longstockings' adds Experimental Rock ideas with some stinging guitar sounds and effects that set themselves strongly apart and while some of it reminds me a bit of what The Velvet Underground did ont their first two albums, this song here goes too far with these ideas. The first half is sometimes really annoying and feels really boring but luckily, the second half is so energetic and noisy that it really saves the entire song. While it doesn't end perfectly, it does sound really great in that second half. The title track, 'Wonderful Rainbow' removes a lot of the Noise and goes even more into the Experimental aspects, even does a Minimalist approach at the start. It is a very short track and doesn't really have any interesting moments or great ideas which let's it end up being pretty average. '30,000 Monkies' is a return to the Noise Rock and Brutal Prog sound with some really complex guitar solo moments throughout. The structure here is pretty wild as is the sound of course but I feel like the overall presentation is a bit overboard with itself. It sounds much more like a professional guitarist that tries to flex than some crazy Noise Rock. The second, much noisier, half of it though is where it actually goes wild. I do like the song and I think that it's really good but the album has had stronger pieces. The album closes with 'Duel in the Deep' which plays with some really interesting and ominous soundscapes within the wild Noise Rock. I like the ideas that this song has but the execution is a little bit lacking. It goes a little bit too far with the Noise and the result feels overly repetitive, tiring and after a while boring. Sonically, a perfect closer but in terms of enjoyment... not really. favourites: Crown of Storms, 2 Towers, On Fire, Longstockings least favourites: Hello Morning, Wonderful Rainbow, Assassins, Duel in the Deep Rating: decent 7 https://rateyourmusic.com/~Emil_ph for more ratings, reviews and takes

album filtering tf outta yall. this is what i thought black midi sounded like before i started listening to them

holy shit! hard as fuck. noisey as hell. explosion in my eardrums. this album is top of the damn mountain, the mountain top. the first half will impress you with being songs (sort of) and the second half will show off how rambunctious and raucous these dudes can be. too good. not for your grandparents. or maybe it is (cause they are cooler than you are)? shit slaps so so so so hard. moooaaaarrrrr. you need drums and overdrive? this is it. this is your stop.

Best Song: Dracula Mountain. Absolutely hellacious groove that somehow sounds exactly like I would imagine something called "Dracula Mountain" to sound like. Worst Song: Duel in the Deep. A kind of dull and drudging end to an otherwise electric album. Overall: After the first 30 seconds, I really didn't expect to like this album at all, but with each successive track I was amazed at how the music was so quickly able to get under my skin and agitate, scraping around under there until suddenly it felt like my whole body was resonating with the noise. The album does sometimes linger too long on amusical, cacophonous noise, but it really shines when it sinks through that noise to some primal groove underneath. I think you need to be in a very particular mood to listen to this album, but when you are it fucking goes.

I am a fan of noise rock. I know it is not everyone's favorite genre but I have always been a fan. This is very good noise rock. For me the litmus test is whether I hear pretty melodies within the noise. This passes that test with flying colors.

I've been on a run of classics I've already am familiar with or stuff I'm not interested in. This feels like the first genuine discovery in a while. Just awesome.

SEE YOU IN THE EVENING SEE YOU IN THE DARK SEE YOU IN THE DAYLIGHT AND IN THE BEYOND

That's utterly crazy, it's quite the opposite of what I like and still it's so damn interesting, I would listen to it again and that's absolutely unexpected considering my taste. I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite until now at all, but still, the surprise sometimes is worth even more. Maybe it's just that I know nothing of the genre but I have never heard anything like this and it's amazing

This is bracing for a Tuesday morning. Crazy, inane, frenetic. Not an album I'd ever put on for fun, but a wild ride. I still bear the scars from seeing these guys at All Tomorrow's Parties festival. Not counting the time security made the crowd sit down; those guys are real killjoys.

I do like me some noise rock. Reminds me of hold your horse is, and they did come out only a year apart I suppose. I really enjoy the chaotic math rock rhythms, but there's some solid guitar work too. Gets a bit repetitive in places but overall good stuff, I was a little surprised it was on the list since it's not that well known and a bit niche

no. No. NO!! This is NOT music!

monotonous noise

just noise

I listened and all I got from this was kill John Lennon. So to try and distract me from my murderous thoughts I’m going to dip my tiny hand into some curry powder and fist the neighbours dog. There’s a good boy shacky

If u get it u get it. "Incredible. It's like the rhythm is hanging on by a thread and they keep trying to cut it with a saw. Definitely best played loud, but it isn't just noise. There is real music in there. This is what I listen to this list for. Something completely new." Man i can hear things like death grips or Deaths Dynamic Shroud being heavily influnced by them. This shit rules hard.

Wall of sound permeated with windows of wonder.

This sounds like something I would have made on GarageBand when I was 12 by cranking all the instrument settings to max

This album felt like an anxiety attack but I kinda liked it. Dracula Mountain was my favorite song.

I hated this album through the first part of Assassins. Then at some point, I got lost in the repetitive, yet catchy, music. I found this to be the case for many songs. There are also several passages that are hard to take. Honestly, this also sounds like something that could be played at high volume intermittently to torture a prisoner. Torture only if you play 5 seconds at a time. Leave it on long enough and you start to feel the groove.

This was.... interesting. Not something I would listen to on my own, but the instrumentation and manipulation of sound is intriguing. Not necessarily my cup of superdupercaffeinated tea... but ... interesting. I definitely didn't hate it.

IT'S VERY NOISY ISN'T IT?! I DID need to hear this before I died. Not sure if a quiet Sunday morning outside was the right time, but I hear you Lightening Bolt.

Noise Rock is a different kind of genre, it certainly is not for everybody. I would not place it as one of my favorite genres but I do enjoy this album. "Assassins" feels like a Muse interlude or filler track. It is good it just is all build with no resolve. Honestly that entire sentiment tracks for the album, "2 Towers" is seven minutes of build which is anxiety inducing. The back half of "On Fire" was good minus the vocals on that. "Longstockings" is a great track until the scratchy breakdown at the end and again minus the strange vocal parts. I want to love this album and at the same time I want to hate this album. Some of the noise was a little too much for me and other parts were amazing. It sounds like a lot of different artists most of the time I was getting Muse and I also heard some RHCP elements in there too and some others that I can't place but know. It is also a fairly quietly mixed album and I had to bump up my volume to hear it clearly.

Insane that this is just bass guitar and drums. There were some cool ideas here, but the charm kinda wears off quick. It's not bad, it just seems very one-dimensional. Worth checking out, though!

I think calling this noise rock is a bit unfair. The first time I heard this, I started thinking of this as just noise. Now, there are some moments where it does get very repetitive, and a BIT more melody would be more helpful. But as a whole, it's pretty good. A whole album does get a little... on the nerves. A song or two on shuffle is a nice palate cleanser, but 45 minutes worth? Nope.

Wow. Unique. I thought a two-piece band but bass and drums not guitar and drums? How's that going to sound? Pretty cool actually. It's a lot of noise, which is a bit of a knock. But the bass is absolutely pumping; wouldn't have minded a bit more variety from the drums instead of just bash them as hard and as fast as possible. And just cut out the vocals, if you can call them that. It wouldn't be all the time, but I can see some situations where I'd go back and put this on. I found myself rocking out to 2 Towers on my second listen. I love the bass work on this album; not a lot else. Good offsets the bad, enough for an average rating.

Was not expecting to see Lightning Bolt, of all bands, on this list. Occasionally locks into a groove that doesn't really go anywhere. It's like if Death From Above 1979 decided to go as un-commercial as possible. When it hits, it's a massive burst of energy in static colors. Favorite tracks: "Dracula Mountain", "Crown of Storms"

Kann man das performen ohne die erste Reihe den Genuss eines Amphetamin-Schweiß-Sprinklers zu schenken? Raw 2.5

This kind of noise rock not my cup of tea, but these guys not bad. “2 Towers” was the standout for me.

Pretty good & heavy. Some rocking tunes but got pretty annoying at times

Enjoyed the noise, didn't enjoy the monotonous repetition.

Wonderful Rainbow I often make the mistake of looking up bands and albums I’ve never heard of before listening to them, and I miss out on the fun of a surprise, fresh listen. In this case I don’t think knowing about this album before would have made much difference to my enjoyment. It is pretty close to unlistenable. Not unlistenable due to a complete lack of ambition or due to a vacuous, empty poverty of intent like The Cult album or the Christina Aguilera album, but due to deliberately challenging obtuseness. Similar to the Spy vs Spy album, I get that the difficulty is kind of the point, so on that level I do think it achieves artistic merit. But on a pure listening level it doesn’t have much merit at all. And as a collection of interesting ideas or themes, which might bridge the gap between the artistic intent and the listenability it also falls a bit short. It is ultimately quite boring, and any moments that might vaguely lead somewhere, like the riff of 2 Towers, the middle section of On Fire or the stabbing melody of Crown of Storms, tend to get squashed at the altar of musical obstinacy and noise. Sometimes things like this get better with more listens, when subtleties and variations that aren’t immediately apparent start to emerge, and while I found it marginally better on the second listen, and a little more on the third listen, I think I could listen a further 100 times and it would feel broadly the same on listen 100 as it does on listen 1. In summary, although I find it pretty unlistenable, I do also tend to appreciate the idea of people ploughing a furrow making this kind of music, intending for it to be hard and challenging, regardless of whether anyone will actually like it - and in fact in this case probably actively wanting people not to like it. So when you put that all together, it’s a 2, another of those ‘I’m glad I’ve been exposed to it, I like that it exists, but I don’t want to listen to anymore of it’ albums. 🌈🌈 Playlist submission: Possibly Crown of Storms, but I’ll go Wonderful Rainbow as it is relatively subdued and only 90 seconds long.

From track one I hated it. From track three I thought, hang on, there is something very interesting in here. From track six I was exhausted and over it. I'd probably enjoy it played live, though.

I was hesitant going in, but this was interesting. Not an everyday listen, but well-done. There's some creative and nuanced uses of feedback and dissonance that are really appealing to me. It's fast paced, full of great energy, and even oddly pretty at moments. What really ultimately gets me though is that, although I enjoy a certain amount of noise in my music, this one really pushes the line into physically unpleasant to hear. One listen was enough. Fave Songs: Dracula Mountain, Assassins, Hello Morning, Crown of Storms, Longstockings

Starting my morning with this, and I just can't. Wiki lists this album as "noise rock," and it's a fitting term. This is noise, with vocals that are barely audible, let alone decipherable. If you ever thought to yourself "Hey, I wonder what it would sound like if the noise a 56k modem makes became sentient and made an album?", then you now have your answer.

This caused me a tremendous amount of anxiety. Like I had to hurry up and finish the album because I needed to be somewhere. Not an enjoyable listen at all. Fantastic bass and drum skills. Really these guys are good, but it's just too chaotic to be an enjoyable listen. There are those songs that have super chaotic intros or devolve into chaos at the end but have an actual song in there. This album is a 21 min chaotic intro that devolves into 21 more minutes of chaos.

2.4 - challenging album to get through. “Crown of Storms” was a standout for me. That said, the album’s heavy, dissonant and lack of melodic sound made it a tough listen. I like bitterness in the right time and place - but I couldn’t eat a whole meal of it. Similarly, I could enjoy one or two of these songs to upend my palate, but I think less is more works best for me here.

WHO IS MAKING THIS LIST?

Wow, just horrible. 0/5. No redeeming features. At least the album is short.

not my style

Yeah instrumental hard rock. Ok I'll just be over here waiting for tomorrow

Unintelligible lyrics, some extremely derivative guitar work - and the rest sounds like you handed some 3 year olds some instruments.

Well, this is super fucking annoying. Between the feed back, the repetitiveness, and the vocals, I’m just going to judge the fuck out of this compiler, Again.

So for some reason, I thought that a 10-day vacation in The Cayman Islands might be a good time to catch-up on the 1,001 Albums assignment… Just sayin’ that vacation is an absolutely terrible time to try and catch-up on these… You know what else is fucking terrible, “Wonderful Rainbow”… So there is a genre known as “noise rock” huh – what utter, and complete BS… There is nothing catchy about this album, and there is not a single redeeming quality anywhere on it… I’ve only given a handful of 1’s – and would love to have given this a 0, but they won’t let me… A complete waste of time, and there is NO reason this album should be on this list… And as a footnote, “30,000 Monkies” is in the running for the worst song that I have ever listened to…

When the Wikipedia only notes the album is on this list, to you know it's going to stink

What the heck is this. Sounds like a two year old got hold of instruments. Not good music.

Lot of reviews saying, “wow you can kind of hear some elements of songs in here” and I agree. “Crown of Storms” is playing now and it sounds like the band knows what songs are and are kind of making a song-esque thing out of static and noise. But what I’m wondering is, why are we grading this band on a curve? Is this band some kind of human interest story about two people with a mental disability that prevents them from understanding what sounds good? Is it a triumph of the human spirit that these two goofy bastards (https://youtu.be/OkzaOwAmDmA?si=5i18tm3SvrobZWkF) made ten “songs” that almost sound like music? Is GMA going to do a feel good story about how the members of this band bravely overcame adversity to make something so close to real music? Because if not, I’m wondering why - if these guys know what music is - why they don’t just make that and not this?

Ooft! Let’s not bother with this one again

Nr. 126/1001 Hello Morning NR Assassins 1/5 (2x) Dracula Mountain 1/5 (2x) 2 Towers 1/5 (3x) On Fire 1/5 (2x) Crown of Storms 1/5 (2x) Longstockings 1/5 (2x) Wonderful Rainbow 2/5 30,000 Monkies 1/5 (2x) Duel in the Deep 1/5 (3x) Average: 1,05 Don't understand what's supposed to be artistic in this sound barrage. I didn't enjoy anything about this. This is now my worst rated album so far, taking over from Junkyard - Birtday Party (1,39). I hope it will stay the worst for some time.

Very clever to make it sound like a CD skipping, but an absolute noisy racket. A few times I thought it was going to break into Van Halen-style guitar tapping, but it remained awful. Totally rubbish sounds.

What a crazy burst of chaotic energy! Love Lightning Bolt, love this album. Maybe my tolerance for noise is pretty high, but this feels a lot more accessible than some other stuff on the list… what’s with the horrendous ratings!?

Oh this looks shit. Not in the way I was expecting though! I need some noise right now bc I'm going a bit mental. Do i need to buy the book bc i want to know why this is on the list. I'm not even hating it but like. Does anyone NEED to hear this before they die. Maybe its what you hear as you die. If you're yknow driving into oncoming traffic at 86mph. I'm literally enjoying myself. This is real good noise. Feel like my heads in a washing machine full of rocks. Tempted to burn a car copy but for the aforementioned driving into oncoming traffic at 86mph. And like noise is something I don't think about coming in albums but this is like. Well assembled. Good track lengths good variety this might be a perfect version of what it is but can I in all good consciousness give it a five when I'm under the influence of my natural brain chemistry. .............yes.

life is distracting these days. so here comes lightning bolt with their noise rock, to distract me further again. On this site noise rock has long been underrated, for this album as well: It gets a stunning score of 2.28. But it really came to stun me. since the band's lineup is nothing more than a bass and a drum, and if i didnt look up the facts, i would think its a trio or something because dude make these noises that make ppl think its a guitar. the singing are minimal in order to make space for the earthquake like riffs, which shook me like a log cabin in the middle of a strong storm, fuzzy and wild, shaking beliefs and minds. Some of the music and arrangement slightly tears a bit of the storm, and outside it, we observed a wonderful rainbow. this might be the coolest thing that ive ever heard. 5/5

I didn’t expect to enjoy ‘noise rock’ at all. But it’s toe-tapping anti-music, flamboyantly baroque and reductive. I can hear the influence on prog rock revivalists Muse.

obviously there are """normie""" thresholds for audio abrasion and demands for familiarity in structure and timbre that make it so that lightning bolt is merely an extremely popular "underground" band and not the most popular band in the world but tbh. it kinda feels like they should be anyway FHJSFHJFS like how could u ever not love lightning bolt??? they hit some absolutely magic ratio between no-bullshit minimalism but Just enough musical information to stay absolutely gripping. i think i might still prefer their more adventurous stuff from later on like sonic citadel but id have to recheck and in any case i dont think theyve ever lost the ratio...this stuff still makes me twitch my foot involuntarily in the right setting. might have to do a full discog re-dive...

Possibly the most surprising album I’ve heard on here yet. I knew of the band, but I hadn’t listened to them because the categorization as “noise rock” was a turn off. The energy and unique sound they bring with this album is far from mere “noise”. The expressionist soundscapes combined with the song titles made listening to the album feel like walking through an art museum, reading the placards and being washed over by art. My hobby as a bass player may have also contributed to my enjoyment. The sound had so much texture that I could feel what he was playing in my own hands.

ah fuck it i'll give it a five, I'm definitely putting in the rotation

Full of energy like Ministry on steroids

I had literally never heard of this band before. The album cover didn't give me any idea of what to expect. After about the 3rd track I realized this is mostly an instrumental album and that's when I really came on board with this album. This is why I love this project. Some wild albums I never would have known to listen to otherwise.

Knew nothing about it. Loved it from about 15 seconds in. Listened to it three times in a row. Formidable noise.

Sugar coated noise.

Groovy noise-rock should be more of a thing. 4.5/5.0: Excellent

i didn’t expect to like this after seeing the genre was noise rock and hearing the first track but at some point in the second song I really started getting into it. underneath all the noise , they had some really great grooves on this album.

Knew the 1st 2 songs. Rest wasn’t what I expected, but very good. Need further listens. Love Karen O’s voice!

Ezt fáj hallgatni, garantált 5 csillag.

Hell yeah. A unique punk and noise rock sound. Shame on this site rating is so low

Some wonderful noise in here. Will need to check out more of this lot. Last couple of tracks were melt your face off heavy in all the right ways.

Absolute powerhouse of noise to blast your puny physical brains out to.

Sorry the review is so short. I spent my writing time hauling the largest speaker possible up to my room to assault my ears with clamorous drums, frantic yelps, and distorted bass in an exploration of texture, rhythm and volume. Got struck by a Lightning Bolt on the way.

Robotomy was a show that aired for about 2-ish months on Cartoon Network in 2010-2011. it's best known for being the show Christy Karacas produced (not created) before the network picked up Superjail! -- from this angle, you would expect a cartoon that looks like this and has this pedigree and history to be wild, too wild for television, and unfortunately it's mostly just kinda mild? there's flashes of unhinged energy, but instead of being this crazy cartoon about two robots who live in a junkyard and try to kill each other with hammers while wearing bloody Halloween costumes, it's basically just Superbad for 13 year olds. and that's fiiiine. but like, i kinda wish it was the former? no plot, no talking, just beautiful murder? this is a roundabout way of saying that if the former cartoon existed and was able to be watched, i would like for the soundtrack to sound like this. never has music sounded so primitive and brutal while also probably being really technically difficult to play. i want to play air bass to this, only because i know i'd break my hands on any object near me if i played air drums to it instead. Lightning Bolt are simple enough for you to understand that it's just two guys, but virtuosic enough for you to still be highly impressed that a sound like this can come from people in general. although, who knows. maybe they are robots wearing Halloween costumes? has anyone checked?