Load [Import]

Load [Import]

Track Listings

1. Aint My Bitch

2. 2 X 4

3. The House Jack Built

4. Until It Sleeps

5. King Nothing

6. Hero Of The Day

7. Bleeding Me

8. Cure

9. Poor Twisted Me

10. Wasting My Hate

11. Mama Said

12. Thorn Within

13. Ronnie

14. The Outlaw Torn

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Japanese exclusive reissue of 1996 album, packaged in a miniature LP gatefold sleeve, features 14 racks. CBS. 2003.

Tracks:

Ain't My Bitch
2 X 4
The House Jack Built
Until It Sleeps
King Nothing
Hero Of The Day
Bleeding Me
Cure
Poor Twisted Me
Wasting My Hate
Mama Said
Thorn Within
Ronnie
The Outlaw Torn

Amazon.com

With Load, Metallica takes a dramatic left turn with their music, continuing in the direction suggested by Metallica, their previous album. The songs on Load have groove; they're slower, with far fewer of the lightning-fast riffs that have been Metallica's trademark since their inception. While songs like "Ain't My Bitch" and "Wasting My Hate" are up-tempo and full of the vitriol one would expect from the quintessential heavy metal band, "2 X 4" is hard rock with a blues beat, "Hero of the Day" sounds positively mainstream, and "Mama Said" is an actual, honest-to-god ballad. While some diehard fans may find this mix unappealing, there's plenty to like about this album, including its laid-back, rhythmic orientation, and James Hetfield's characteristic growl tempered by his growing maturity as a vocalist. -- Genevieve Williams

Album Description

The band's 1996 album coupled with the four track CD single'Live In London', featuring 'Bleeding Me', 'Damage Inc' andcovers of Queen's 'Stone Cold Crazy' & Killing Joke's 'TheWait'. 18 tracks total. The single is a slimline jewel case;'Load' is in a stand

Customer Reviews:

Metallica Bears 'Load' With Results That May Vary...4.5 stars..........2007-07-30

Every now and then, a band shells out a heavy dose of majesty album after album before they hit a brick wall that will either crash down in front of them or might remain intact. Undoubtedly, Metallica might have sensed that fans would either embrace or turn away from a change of sound and even craft, as the band expanded its sonics and metal attack with slower tempos, hints of "alternative", and even some (hold your breath) country twang on LOAD, easily the band's most interesting and varied work. It's no KILL 'EM ALL; it's nowhere near MASTER OF PUPPETS; heck, it's not even METALLICA Pt. 2. And as it stands, it shouldn't need to be a part two of that breakthrough album. LOAD did without a doubt rattle some fans nerves, even creating serious doubt in some as to whether Metallica had truly lost their minds making this record. Rolling Stone even featured a cover with all four of them brandishing brand new short haircuts, creating a false sense that they had somehow gone "alternative" and wanted to fit into some kind of trend. LOAD represents a shift in terms of style and musical tastes for Metallica, and while they lost fans in the process, undoubtedly many stuck around and embraced the sound as it sold a whopping 680,000 copies in its first week of release.

LOAD's sound is presented in thundering form on the record's first track, "Ain't My Bitch", a churning riff-driven monster that features Hetfield's new trademark growl, Hetfield and guitarist Kirk Hammett's chunky riffing, Jason Newsted's roiling basss, and Lars Ulrich's hammering drums. It presents the band in a different time, a more crunchy and polished rock sheen than previous releases only barely hinted at, if at all. The first single off the album, the melodic and atmospheric "Until It Sleeps", is one of the few surprises on LOAD, as it features a crooning Hetfield pleading "so tell me why you've chosen me/don't want your grip/don't want your greed/don't want it" as the cautionary chorus taunts "so tear me open but beware/there's things inside without a care". Indeed, LOAD is a cautionary album, and it requires a careful listen to truly understand that this was an evolutionary step for Metallica. "King Nothing" and "2x4" are lean and muscular stomp-rock exercises that are both equally satisfying, with the latter even showing evidence of a little blues boogie in the groove. "Bleeding Me" is the epic centerpiece of the record, an eight minute plus opus that crawls with a roping riff in the beginning before many full-blown choruses emerge amongst the trodden beast, and Hetfield again sings "I'm diggin' my way/I'm diggin' my way to something/I'm diggin' my way to something better" like a wounded man near the light of a tunnel. On all of the aforementioned tracks, Lars drums pound hard, Hammett's leads are captivating, Hetfield's rhythm guitar shreds in chunky installments, and Newsted's bass pulses along with Lars beats. At times, though, the band does indeed try to scale back it's approach for an open breath of fresh air.

The band takes a stab at a country-rock twang on the heartfelt "Mama Said", a quiet moment featuring a country pedal steel, acoustic guitars, and Hetfield's quiet, sensitive crooning. It's almost a shock to hear something like this come from a band whose first album was titled KILL 'EM ALL, but they pull it off successfully (and, according to one website, it even charted on country radio!). Moments of "Bleeding Me" are quiet and introspective and melodic; "The House Jack Built" sounds like it could be menacing but never quite reaches that apex; and "Hero of the Day" is an aching nugget of "alternative" metal that feels like it was built for radioplay. At moments, the band does feel like it's overstaying it's welcome, as is more than apparent on the nearly ten-minute album closer, "The Outlaw Torn", and while that song has majesty of its own, it seems to drag a little in certain points. Indeed, at a hearty 78 minutes and 57 seconds over 14 tracks, you might feel like the word "filler" comes to mind, but really there isn't a mere shab of fillers save for a few spots of "Outlaw Torn" and even the rocking "Ronnie". But those extremely minor flaws are completely forgiveable as the band, throughout the album, take risks that pay off big for them in the form of big hooks, monster lean riffs, and pulverizing rhythmic attacks.

Indeed, while still many critics learned to love LOAD, many fans did not and ultimately wound up leaving behind Metallica and realizing they would never replicate the sound of METALLICA or anything before it. But many open-minded fans gave load a chance and it sold well over three million copies in mere months and found itself nominated for Grammys as well. But LOAD was a risk Metallica took and ultimately, it still seemed to pay off for these four juggernauts of metal. While many fans to this day still regard LOAD as the beginning of the end for Metallica, many others still praise the band for its willingness to experiment with different textures and grooves to give them a wider sonice palette. LOAD represents a change in Metallica's direction musically and it also paints a portrait of the kings of metal who are not afraid to take risks. Evolution, for better or worse, can pay off, and as is the case with LOAD, ultimately did.

a band under any other name---.......2007-07-23

hero of the day iz cool but beyond that the sound has changed too much. Great rock but not great Metallica. Then Lars started farting around chasing that Napster dude like he caused the end of the world or something, really they were done with the black album because everything after that was more rock oriented and alternative style. Long live Metallica 1983-1992 and selloutica should find a good new fanbase since most the youth of today are zombies and do not even realize what came before anyways.

sell out? not really.......2007-07-10

This album was a bit different that their previous ones. However, this is a huge progression even from the Black album.

These guys certainly did not sell out. If they had sold out they would have become less heavy (even less heavy then they were here) and made a crappy album of romantic music or a CD filled with fake drum clicks and a shimmering glockenspiel (like so much of the music today)

There is solid musicianship here and they realize their guitars have more than two strings and they know more than 3 chords. They didn't write some crappy corporate lyrics like so many 'rock' groups these days who only play what they're told and then let there music be produced in that way that gets stuff on the radio.

This album is better than all of that. There are actual melodies here and not just mindless riffing against pounding drums. This album is definitely a progression from the Black album, or any of their albums. Its produced well and sound great.

If you don't have this, you should. If you have it, listen to it again. This is easily 5 stars.

Corrosion of Metallica? .......2007-06-19

I was just thinking about the other day, what happened during the Load era of Metallica to make them do such an album? Well I think that I can explain alot of it, without making me or Metallica sound like total schmucks.

First of all, I think Metallica has become more than just a band, its a MACHINE. A very lucrative machine for the persons involved that is. Its a very different world, somewhat isolated from the ground. I don't know what would have happened if they would've come out with a very eighties sounding album in 1997. Would it have sold? Considering how dead traditional metal was (other than in much of Europe, etc), I could see them getting dropped after lackluster sales of an album of such music. They may have had to been signed to Castle records, or in other words go from the "top" to the "middle" rung (see the Neil Strauss/Motley Crue book The Dirt for a good explaination of this concept).
Metallica have worked extremely hard to get where they are, and this is an indisputable fact regardless of what you think of their music.

I don't think that Metallica were just following trends 100 % either, as Load isn't like Dokken's Shadowlife or such rubbish. Load is basically where they were at the time, getting into more bluesy influences, more hard rock, and a lot of Corrosion of Conformity!

I think it was an experiment to expand their sound to include alot of different things, not to sell out to an expanded audience per se. However, I also think that the changed climate in the U.S in regards to metal was definitely an influence. Its been said that all trends start in California and I'm sure that Metallica were influenced by "alternative culture" that is inherent in San Francisco. Metallica wanted to branch out, but at the same time, sell albums (even if unconciously). I don't even think it was a conscious attempt to "Sell out" as much as it was following a certain path that is influenced by; approaching middle age, "Different" non metal influences, and also, even if under the surface, the influence of a corporation (the aforementioned "machine") and also peers and a city that has never been total metal like Gothenburg, Stockholm or Oslo (other than the bay area thrash scene of the Eighties).
Its the same reason why Madison WI's most famous "metal" band of all time is a more "alternative", "funky", or "trippy" metal band, Last Crack. So I take all this into consideration when looking at the Load's, the times were not conducive to traditional metal, but the scene where Metallica are from was not either, and their listening choices were probably not very "metallic" at the time. Lars Ulrich disowned the "metal" label around the same time, but he has always been the one to say provocative statements such as those. Lars seems to really hate alot of the fanbase he sees as unintelligent and unenlightened. It may be pretentious, but a part of me agrees with him, though making such statements is going to alienate people.

I like the Loads, but they could have been made into one album, and it would have been a good album, though definitely not the Metallica of old.

Excellent!!.......2007-05-16

The CD arrived in perfect condition and my dad really enjoys his b-day present!! Thanks

Average customer rating:

Whinig f-ing maggots
This was the breakthrough, not "No Cure for Cancer"
Some of the greatest rants ever
Not worth the money
Exact Bits Leary Stole from Hicks

Lock 'N Load
Denis Leary
Manufacturer: A&M
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Lock 'N Load

Amazon.com

Lots of comedians like to think of themselves as rock stars, but Leary makes good on that threat with Lock 'n Load. Leary's frantic concert ranting is intercut MTV-style with comic song parodies (including a gothic mocking of the Love Boat theme), idle chatter, noise bursts, sound collages, and guest spots from the likes of Janeane Garofalo (slamming Fiona Apple) and musicians Adam Roth and Greg Dulli. Leary takes no prisoners as he goes after Michael Flatley, Marv Albert, Hanson, the Kennedy clan, the pope, ecology activists, 7-Eleven counter help, fat Vegas gamblers, and even his own kids. He's at his angry, acid best when he takes on the annoying '90s trends of multiple body piercings, microbrews, and flavored coffee. --Michael Ruby

Customer Reviews:

Whinig f-ing maggots.......2006-08-03

Leary is a darn funny guy. I do not care if he stole each and every joke from some other guy. He is a riot - and he put it out there. I am sick of reading all these little crybaby comments about how he has ripped off Hicks and blah, blah, blah. Go cry about it on some Hicks website, forum, message board, or whatever. Nobody cares about Hicks when trying to read a review of a DENIS LEARY CD. I do not know who this Hicks guy is, and I never want to know who he is, because of all the whining and crying going on here. Hicks apologists shut your cake-holes.

This was the breakthrough, not "No Cure for Cancer".......2006-01-08

"No Cure for Cancer" is the top selling album that catapulted Leary to success, but here he develops into more of a unique individual. People always bug him about ripping off Bill Hicks: On No Cure for Cancer, he may have crossed the line a few times. But by this point he had headed in a different direction; rather than becoming a spiritualist and misanthrope like the late Hicks, Leary got married, had kids, and became the "crazy guy trying to adjust to mundane, family life and never quite fitting in". A bit commercial? Maybe. But Leary's always been a talented, aggressive performer, and here he's working with a fresh perspective as well.

Some of the greatest rants ever.......2005-09-06

The "Coffee" rant is one of the best I've ever heard. The fat f-cks routine was great and his jokes about his kids was excellent. My only complaint was that there some short songs that were lame. Still, there were so many great takes this album is well worth buying.

Not worth the money.......2005-01-14

I thoroughly enjoy listening to Dennis Leary rant and rave about life. But, this was a dissapointment. Too many skits (not even funny), this was more of a let down than I had hoped. There are moments where it is funny, but I do not recommend purchasing this

Exact Bits Leary Stole from Hicks.......2005-01-07

Leary is a hack. He wasn't "influenced" by Bill Hicks, he STOLE material. That makes him a hack. How can you Leary fans argue with the definition of the word hack? Take it up with Webster's Dictionary.

The exact bits Leary stole are described in the book AMERICAN SCREAM on pages 201-202. Bill Hicks was incensed when he heard Leary's tape.

On behalf of Bill's memory, give credit to the original.

Average customer rating:

Unholy racket
eye twitch
I needed this
please...
My neck still hurts

Wonderful Rainbow
Lightning Bolt
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ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews:

Unholy racket.......2005-09-12

I almost feel like I should write a negative review of this, like maybe it would be more appropriate or something. After all, the negative reviews are (expectedly) less deferential, more honest, and generally more like the kind of criticisms you'd expect the band would want to hear (bunch of no talent musicians, nothing but noise, blah blah blah, you know the drill). Also, they're not wrong. This is loud, visceral, retarded, noise rock, and listening to this album is like listening to the best parts of Shellac, Painkiller, JSBX, Jesus Lizard, Ministry, Cro-Mags and Minor Threat all at once.

eye twitch.......2005-08-15

A mere 2 months ago, I was completely unexposed to this amazing band. Complex, intense, experimental, noise/punk/free jazz/metal fusion. A guy with a bass that has one banjo string, and a guy who plays drums with a microphone taped inside of his mouth. This will change your perception of rock and roll, either for the better or for the worse. It has done nothing but good for me.

I needed this.......2005-07-05

This band compeled me to write my first review on this site for something I bought here. I have been wanting to here some new great music. This is it. This band is just a drummer and a bassist but they put out a lot of sound and they just rock. Visit their website at www.laserbeast.com and you can see some clips of them playing live. They play on the floor with the crowd literally standing right next to them. Very energetic. This is my first album I have heard by this band and I intend to pick up the rest of their albums. I am going to check out some more bass/drum duo groups. I know of another band called Death From Above 1979. They have a more "pop" sound than Lightning Bolt, and they are another good band.

please..........2005-04-23

it sucks. this group should stop making noise. it gets old. weak. get some talent.

My neck still hurts.......2005-02-08

Oh Jeebus, this is one intense album. For those unfamiliar with Lightning Bolt, the loud, hard-pounding Wonderful Rainbow should serve as a suitable introduction to this manic drum-and-bass duo. There may only be two instruments being played, and a few wordless vocals scattered throughout, but Wonderful Rainbow is anything but minimal. This is one busy album, filled with dense, complex, and occasionally playful pieces of noise rock that will have you banging your head in no time at all.

If you ever thought a bass couldn't be used as a lead instrument, this album will provide you with a resounding rebuttal, as Brian Gibson finds more uses for the instrument than you might think possible. His work here ranges from big fuzzed-out riffs to screeching bouts of feedback and everything in between, while Brian Chippendale contributes some drumbeats that you'd have to send away to NASA to calculate. Go ahead, try to sit still while listening to the crazed intro to 30000 Monkeys. I dare you.

There are a few rather mellow moments to be found here, but they basically just serve as counterpoints to the monstrous sonic onslaught that's typically on display. As someone else has already noted, Lightning Bolt makes a great antidote to the Belle and Sebastians of the world. This album is a must for serious noise enthusiasts everywhere.

Average customer rating:

I Love This Album
awesome debut album
If you love dancing, you'll love this!

Get a Load of This
Slunt
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ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Product Description

1. Intro - Jillian
2. OK OK
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4. Loved By You
5. I Wanna Be Your Only One
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Customer Reviews:

I Love This Album.......2005-08-26

I happened across SLUNT's video on Yahoo one day and have been hooked ever since. They are an awesome hard rock band with a great female lead singer. This is one of the best rock CDs that I have bought in years and puts me in mind of AC/DC with their simple yet effective riffs and lyrics. They are extremely cool people that I got the honor of meeting while they were out touring on their own and they are destined to make it big. Buy this CD but be careful...it can be addictive

awesome debut album.......2005-04-03

I also saw Slunt when they opened up for Marilyn Manson back in November of 2004. They had great energy on stage and really got me in the mood for Marilyn Manson to come out. I checked out their website the day after the concert, and I'm still in love with them. I picked up their debut album and it's one of the best albums I've heard in a while. The *hidden track* makes it well worth the money. :)

If you love dancing, you'll love this!.......2005-03-30

Slunt has to be one of the hardest hitting true rock and roll bands. I saw them last November when they opened for Marilyn Manson. The lyrics to "Best Thing" are so cruel it makes you wonder "Wow, that guy must've been really bad in bed..." Their energy is amazing. They really can get a crowd going. This is one of my top 10 CDs. Check out their EP as well.

I recommend this CD for fans of No Doubt and Bif Naked.

Average customer rating:

Well, nearly 10 years later...
Ugh.
imagine The Misfits with nothing but women in the band
STOP , NOW!
MORE GREAT CHICK ROCK

In The Night!!!
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Customer Reviews:

Well, nearly 10 years later..........2007-02-22

I'm listening to this album for the first time in years. Theoretically I should love this because (a) It's surf rock played by girls, (b)They dress like monsters and (c) They cover Cheap Trick, but sadly it's mostly cornball. Some nice little Man or Astroman style instrumentals are ruined by the "Woo-Hoos" and "Yeah Babys" they shout over top. Don't buy.

Ugh........2002-06-21

Its surf rock in all of its cheesy, awful, stero-typical kitschy glory. The guitar riffs are less than mediocre, the samples are poorly chosen and ill-timed, and the bubble-gum lyrics and vocals go from sexy to scary when you take into consideration that they come from a bunch of 30 something women. The fact that its recorded to sound like a poorly recorded 50s album is the clincher of the deal. Don't waste your time, don't waste your money, and learn from the fact that you can buy a used copy for less than 3 bucks.

imagine The Misfits with nothing but women in the band.......2000-01-04

this is the result. and its very cool!

the songs sound like they come from really terrible 50's b horror movies and those beyond cheesy 60's exploitation films whick is of course what they were going for.

i still can't help thinking about the misfits everytime i listen to this band(famous monsters is also a fits album F is For Fiend has the misfits written all over it).

good stuff, if they got together with the fits the results would destroy the world.

STOP , NOW!.......1999-11-06

OK FIRST OFF IF YOU ARE A HUGE WHITE ZOMBIE FAN LIKE ME, YOU MIGHT THINK YOU NEED THIS ALBUM, BUT TRUST ME, I BOUGHT IT AND IT IS NOTHING LIKE WHITE ZOMBIE, IT IS ALL SURFY AND STUFF. BUT ILL GIVE IT TWO STARS CUZ IT IS A GOOD EFFORT FROM SEAN, AND IT IS GOOD THAT SHE GETS HER OWN BAND NOW, BUT IT ISNT WHITE ZOMBIE AND IF YOU ARENT WHITE ZOMBIE.......WHAT ARE YOU?

MORE GREAT CHICK ROCK.......1999-08-01

Not only is this album fun, but it's by chicks (which makes it rock even harder!) I was never too much of a White Zombie fan, but this album was not what I expected! Famous monsters rock in the night and in the day!

Average customer rating:

more elemental
( ! )
Machine Gun Orgy
I LOVE JOLT COLA, AND THIS ALBUM!!!!
Bolt from the red

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Customer Reviews:

more elemental.......2007-01-09

For many who come across this page, you might be largely unfamiliar with Lightning Bolt's work. These poetic descriptions of "a chainsaw through pudding meets a baseball bat and trash can" are more than a bit misleading.

At its heart, Lightning Bolt is a constant jam: Brian Gibson's fuzzed out, tuned up bass lines over Brian Chippendale's frantic, yet fluid drumming. It isn't just cluttered noise, there is rhythm and melody involved. What you won't find are sing along choruses, just monstrous sounds from unorthodox setups. The bass is tuned up to Cello tuning (in fifths, starting at C) and the drummer doesn't play on a hi hat (he uses a large ride cymbal's bell and a "ping" cymbal). Occasionally (on this album, "Dead Cowboy" is one of the few...) Chippendale sings through a phone receiver mounted in a mask (allows him to play).

While not as "accessible" as their last album, it does a better job of conveying their "magic". This album was done in a more "jam econo" (to borrow a term from the Minutemen) format: recorded on a 2-track DAT in a home studio.

The album's few lyrics touch a little on the political, instead of the tongue-and-cheek allusions of their earlier releases (a combination of the two has basically fueled other noise-rock bands, like The Blood Brothers). If you can understand it, there is a bit of GW Bush skewering... but that sort of brings up an undeniable point about the band: this is the true heartbeat of punk.

It's not a haircut, or 1-4-5 song structures that are co-opted by the mainstream... if anyone forgot other, more idealistic bands (Refused, Fugazi), Lightning Bolt is a bit refreshing. They have been together over ten years and continue to get better and just rock out. They haven't been hemmed in by scene kids or given an inch in artistic vision. Ultimately, the music is as much art as it is music: you don't paint to get famous, you do it because you have to ("...never trust an artist that tells you he has a choice...").

Lightning Bolt goes for the guts, loud and abrasive. If you are at least familiar with the bigger art/noise bands that have come into indie vogue (Test Icicles, The Blood Brothers, and to a lesser extent, DFA) then Lightning Bolt is worth checking out.

If any of this piques your interest, I implore you to buy this album (support the band). At the end of the day, Lightning Bolt is just two guys who are good at what they do, stick to their guns like few others, and do it all with very little ego (that is something unique in music).

( ! ).......2006-12-29

I picked up this one and Wonderful Rainbow out of curiosity. I sat with the headphones on and did nothing else; just let the hyperactive tunes sink into my head... the music flat out Godsmacked me.

I found the sound is actually a bit more melodic and less "noise" than a lot of reviews are describing, but then again attempting a description here is a challenge. Be brave and pick up a disk by this band; they are a breath of fresh air.

HIGHLY recommended.

Machine Gun Orgy.......2006-11-06

OK, so if you are just cruising around amazon and don't no anything about lightning bolt, let me fill you in. I've heard people describe this band as the following: Two Helicopters kissing, getting hit in the chest with a sonic MACK truck, getting beat over the head by a beatiful girl with a baseball bat, a duel between jack hammers and chainsaws, and being stoned to death buy speaker feedback. Personally i like it, the first time i heard their album "wonderful rainbow" i was in my car and thout of it as just noise; then i got out of my car, fell to my knees and realized my soul had melted. no joke, its a true story. well anyway, they were born out of an art school in rhode island as a rock power duo (bass guitar and drums) even though it sounds like 30,000 monkeys... their early "work" are random pieces of musical information that your head finally pieces together into kinda music before the "song" throws your head under a tractor. their new stuff (Hyper magic mountain) is less rediculous.. and kinda catchy...kinda, you realy have to hear this band to understand what i mean and hypermagic mountain is a good start. its hard to get into the feel of Lightning bolt, so its best to take baby steps.

so here is what you are gonna do.
1)buy hypermagicmountain
2)fall in love with lightning bolt
3)buy the rest of thier music
4) prepare yourself
5)see them live and try to survive... i almost exploded

I LOVE JOLT COLA, AND THIS ALBUM!!!!.......2006-08-04

OK, here's my take this peace of work. I think this is one of the most intense, brutal, and "in your face" cd I've ever owned! Lightning Bolt is one of my favorite bands, and I've had all their cd's before this one, and I have loved all of them. I was so excited when I got Hypermagic Mountain. Like others I was expecting Wonderful Rainbow or Ride the Skies, but when I put the cd in, it blew all my expectations away! This album makes everything else I listen to a yawn (even the other Lightning Bolt cds)! So, I think this is Lightning Bolt at their best and loudest! I can't wait to hear these songs live, 'cause there's no doubt in my mind that I'll go crazy along with everyone else!

Also, how could I forget the art-work!! The art-work alone is worth buying! There isn't an inch of this cd that isn't cover in crayon!! So, Hypermagic Mountain keeps my ears and eyes overwelmed with excitment and joy.

Bolt from the red.......2006-01-29

Boy this is something else! It sounds like a jam but obviously isn't. The basic riffs define the song backed by over played drum madness a la Mitch Mitchell but always in harmony with each other. Truly this is western music returnd to shamanic presence more than will allow our western minds to split animal from Victorian thought over it. Bestial.

Average customer rating:

New High and Ord
Silver Daggers
Manufacturer: Load Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NOK0SA
Release Date: 2007-04-24

Tracks:

Enter the King
New High & Ord
Untame
We Didn't Pay
Five Food Groups
Displacement
Faithful Unlawful
Governkkk
Ghosted
Burn the World
Movement
Joy
Real Neat Flag
Run to Fear

Average customer rating:

completely sick out of my mind
After their live show, i found their albums.....
What?
Definitely not casual entertainment
lightning bolt lives up to it's name

Ride the Skies
Lightning Bolt
Manufacturer: Load Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Wonderful Rainbow
Hypermagic Mountain
Lightning Bolt
Lightning Bolt - The Power Of Salad
Sung Tongs

ASIN: B00008NRJ4
Release Date: 2003-02-11

Tracks:

Forcefield
Ssaint Jacques
13 Monsters
Ride the Sky
Faire Folk
Into the Mist 2
Wee Ones Parade
Rotator

Customer Reviews:

completely sick out of my mind.......2005-06-13

If there was ever any question as to whether punk is dead, this is your answer. Praise be to god! It's dead as a door nail and as alive and kicking as you ever wanted. Or never wanted.

I am still befuddled by the idea that this is only a duo. A DUO. Two men. One with a bass guitar, one with a (rather small) drum kit. I can confirm this with first hand experience, I've seen them twice. I don't even begin to understand how they manage to get the sounds that they do, simultaneous driving/driven bass lines (by Brian Gibson) and feed back and some effect that sounds like a heavily distorted violin, not to mention drummer Brian Chippendale's inaudibly screamed vocals that at times sound like a screeching monkey from hell and at others are almost intelligible, nor to mention the most lightning paced drumming I've ever heard that can still be considered playing (I don't think he misses a beat. Literally), nor the way that together they can instantaneously erupt into blasts and bolts of sheer noise and then back again into complex rhythms, some of which border on being loops.

I've never been a fan of "noise rock," and really it would be unfair to try to squeeze these guys into that category. The drumming is truly some of the best I've heard, the bass is at times hypnotizing, at others like a sonic car crash. It would also be unfair to call them metal; beyond being heavy and harsh, the sound here is about as close to "metal" as it is close to jazz. Or maybe it's art, but in that case I'm not really sure what it is that they're trying to say, and they're not pretentious (I met bassist Brian Gibson after a show, and he seemed the amicable sort, if not a bit drunk and/or tired). Maybe it's anarchy, but in that case there's order and beauty even at the heart of chaos.

I saw them a few weeks ago at an underground noise and death metal show in a warehouse here in Providence, and where the other bands only had the handful of two percenters thrashing about, and where the others only manage to inflict a moderate level of deafness on their listeners, Lightning Bolt had at least 75% of the audience whipped into a sweating, stomping, jumping frenzy-- to wander too close to the pit (at the heart of which the duo invariably plays) meant being sucked in and, possibly, risking your life if you aren't ready-- and almost 36 hours later my ears were still ringing. There's little doubt in my mind that I suffer a terminal deafness as punishment for not bringing earplugs. The energy in their tracks (umm... "songs"? I don't think so) is down right primal and urges the listener/audience to just completely let go... something that I wouldn't altogether suggest if you do manage to get to one of their shows, and yet something that I found to be almost unavoidable. Brian The Drummer plays with something that looks like a home made balaclava covering his face, with random tufts of hair sticking out, but this is more a matter of function than it is a fashion statement, so far as I can figure, since his microphone is sewn directly into the mask. The mic's cord leads to a small box of knobs and buttons and things, the nature of which I'm not entirely certain, which he manages to twiddle intermittently with his drumming. I'm assuming this is how he manages to sometimes sound like that Hell's Monkey. The energy is non-stop, despite plaing for three-plus hours.
But it's really their placement at the heart of the mosh pit, without a main stage, that really defines their performance and who they are-- at once putting themselves on the same level as the audience and saying that it's about the music and the energy, and not the performance and image. These aren't scenesters or hipster looking to be noticed, and that's almost the most important aspect of this music.

For a two man band, there's a lot to get through here. One or two listenings just isn't going to cut it, and for those of you who prefer to get your kicks on the "alternative" radio stations, with all of their "indie" bands (I don't even know how you'd have sstumbled way down here!), I honestly wouldn't even begin to try. This ain't for the faint of heart.

Think Philip Glass on crack. Think Can with more to get off their chests. Think _Modern Painters Magazine_ singing high praises (yes, it's true). Think Sonic Youth with more energy, more noise, more distortion, and more feed back had they kept going in the direction they started off in in the '80s. Think jumping out of a prop plane at cruising altitude with no parachute and somehow surviving, only with a bit more adrenaline. Think if all of these things got together and had an orgy and somehow in the middle of it a baby was born, now think that the baby had a secret evil twin that had been locked in a closet all of his life and somehow managed to escape and take over the other baby's life with plans to take over the world with his evil genius.
Yeah, well, if you think about that you're going to be way off point.
In the two months that I've owned this CD, there's hardly been a day that I didn't listen to it at least once. I must be sick.

After their live show, i found their albums............2005-01-14

....to make much more sense. Having had the chance to see them live several times, including a show back in September at the Hook in Brooklyn, I revisited their albums and rediscovered my love for them. I had bought this album and last year's Wonderful Rainbow at the same time, mainly because I admired their Do It Yourself Sensibilty, much the same way I discovered Fugazi back in the day. Honestly, it took me awhile to get into them on CD, wheras their live shows are so immediately amazing. I didn't really see it at first. Their live show is so beautifully raw and honest and intense, and it seemed impossible to capture that on a cd. I kept listening and found myself feeling it more and more. Now, more than a few years later, I still find myself listening to Ride the Skies every week, one of the few albums that has had such staying power. I find their albums much more intricate and emotional than other "noise" bands, although I hate that term. I don't care for the Wolf Eyes and others of similarity. The release they must feel at the creation of this album is incredible, and over the year's I have found this to be their best album, much better than their first album, and Wonderful Rainbow. Also, if unable to catch them live, check out their DVD called The Power of Salad, at least that gives you an idea of what is in store.

What?.......2004-11-29

Lightning Bolt is so incredibly awesome, words won't do them justice. Really, for anybody who likes pure, untampered noise that has form, meaning, and a purpose, you can't beat Ride The Skies. This is where rock music should be going. This is where punk should have gone. This is bliss. Mmmmmmmmm........

Definitely not casual entertainment.......2004-08-07

I gave the rave reviews the thumbs up because everything they say is true. The arrangements are intricate, complex and executed with creativity and energy and without flaw. You might like this band, I just didn't like it at all. I like to be entertained by music, whatever the style, and I like it to "speak to the heart" rather than the mind. I prefer a good book or BBC series for intellectual stimulation.

I also get bored of "rock" without lyrics. My reaction was the same when 10 or 15 years ago I purchased Stewart Copeland's solo/instrumental album. It was a yawner. Yeah, there were cool bits and Copeland is an awesome drummer but I had this really "neutral" feeling at the end of both of these recordings like I just came out of a modern art museum and said the word "Interesting..." but didn't expect to ever return.

lightning bolt lives up to it's name.......2003-11-05

I first heard this album in a friend's basement. he said it was grindcore, which i wasnt really into at the time. They ripped into the first song and my jaw hit my stomach. I said "how many people are in this band?" I was even more amazed when he said just TWO! a bass player and a drummer, both uttrly insane at their instruments. At first listen it sounds like a whole bunch of noise with no structure. But when you take a closer listen, you realize how very complex it is. From time signature changes to playing at speeds you can't even air guitar, this album totally blew me away. some of the rythyms are so syncopated it's quite incredible...you can tell these guys probably listen to a lot of freejazz. i can feel the energy flowing from this thing every time i put it in a CD player.

Average customer rating:

Sunset at the End of the Industrial Age
The USA Is a Monster
Manufacturer: Load Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Wohaw
Miastenia
Tasheyana Compost
Evangelista

ASIN: B000GRTQIY
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Tracks:

Greatest Mystery
Sunset at the End of the Industrial Age
Too Many Moves
Wine Country Kracker Blues
How We Livin' (It's Not the Scripture It's the Mass)
Voices to Be Heard
(Intermission)
Okeepa Ceremony
It's a Beautiful Thing (I Like My Oranges Peeled for Me)
Spirit of Revenge

Average customer rating:

A swirling mess of beauty

Psychic Secession
Yellow Swans
Manufacturer: Load Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Bring the Neon War Home
Drift
Conference of the Birds
Rather Ripped
Pink

ASIN: B000ERU5O0
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Tracks:

True Union
Psychic Secession
I Woke Up
Velocity of the Yolk

Customer Reviews:

A swirling mess of beauty.......2006-04-25

First when hearing Yellow swans you have to take all preconceived notions of music and throw it out the window. Its easy to pigeonhole what these people do as "noise", but it is so much more. There is layer upon layer of melodies being atonal or not. It starts with the most violent of tracks "True Union". Which is a hurricane of vibrations and feedback that finally swirls into "Psychic Secession. Psychic opens with a spoken work piece and mute beats slowly plodding beneath it. Which builds into intensity and leads to the most rhythmic track "I woke up". Layers of mechanical and organic drumming rising to the violent vocals that repeat: "I woke up to the end of electricity, I woke up outside of time. I woke up with my dreams in my life." The lyrics may seem mundane outside of the music, but put into context is quite riveting.

Music Info:

Music Info

music info

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