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Sonic Citadel

by Lightning Bolt

supported by
ok cheez
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ok cheez This is the greatest blow to the head of all time. <3 Favorite track: Blow To The Head.
Tom Colquhoun
Tom Colquhoun thumbnail
Tom Colquhoun While Fantasy Empire was dare I say it catchy, Citadel is a relentless fuckin pummelling; A lot of this album (particularly Air Conditioning) feels like a demented riff on golden-era Anthrax, while Husker Don't (fuck yeah whichever Brian named that) may be the best reproduction of the live Lightning Bolt experience I've ever heard, with waves of full sensory shutdown just smashing into you repeatedly like bodies in the pit..; basically this album gave me tinnitus and PTSD and I'm not mad. Favorite track: Bouncy House.
slicksicksix
slicksicksix thumbnail
slicksicksix This album has absolute bangers, and other tunes that took a few listens to digest.... sometimes the monotony of one section breaks into a perfect cacophony to lead into another section of absolute riffage! Air Conditioning is still my favorite tune overall, but give Big Banger a lil time to play out... WOW!
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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe 2xLP version comes packaged in a gatefold jacket. LPs are pressed on virgin vinyl and housed in printed inner sleeves with free download card.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sonic Citadel via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $24 USD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CD version in 4-panel mini-LP style gatefold package.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sonic Citadel via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $12 USD or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $9 USD  or more

     

  • Limited 2xLP [Green]
    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Deluxe 2xLP version comes packaged in a gatefold jacket. LPs are pressed on virgin vinyl and housed in printed inner sleeves with free download card.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sonic Citadel via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

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Big Banger 05:04
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Halloween 3 05:48
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Tom Thump 02:41
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Bouncy House 04:38
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All Insane 04:56
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about

Lightning Bolt play with abandon that is unmatched and remarkably undiluted since the duo’s formation 25 years ago. They are often called one of the loudest rock outfits in existence, both on record and on (or famously, off) the stage. Brian Gibson creates sounds that are unexpected and remarkably varied with his virtuosic bass playing and his inventive approach to the instrument, centered around melody rather than rhythm. The dizzying fury of Brian Chippendale’s drums twist from primal patterns into disorienting break beats as his distorted, looped, and echoing vocals weave more melody into the mayhem. Amidst the fray there has always been shreds of a pop songs discernible in the eye of every Lightning Bolt song. For their seventh full length, Sonic Citadel, Gibson and Chippendale have done the daring, stripping away some of the distortion mask to reveal the naked pop forms as never before. Their relentless energy, inventiveness and, unrestrained joy still drive their songs, pulling you in and compelling you to bounce and yes, even sing along.
Over their career Lightning Bolt’s incomparable sound has been built on the ebb and flow between the power of raw, unbridled simplicity and a boundless, childlike sense of wonder. Sonic Citadel marks the duo’s most varied and diverse work since their seminal album Wonderful Rainbow, exploring a large breadth of emotions between and within each song. Gibson and Chippendale again recorded with the esteemed Machines With Magnets to capture the abandon of their music with clarity and Gibson’s incredible dynamic range clearly to make the record as visceral an experience as their live performances. The pummeling “Blow To The Head” and swirling “Van Halen 2049” bookend the album with two of the most ferocious songs in the band’s catalogue, with the former built as a Black Pus (Brian Chippendale’s solo outlet) track on steroids. In stark contrast, songs like “Don Henley In The Park,” and “All Insane” take on almost conventional pop shapes despite being entirely spontaneous pieces crafted in the studio. “Hüsker Dön’t” too defies expectations as one of the poppiest songs in their discography with a chugging but clear chord progression and some of Chippendale’s least distorted vocals. These wildly varying approaches are a testament to the duo’s immeasurable capacity to explore new sonic territory organically, and largely through improvisation.

For the bulk of Lightning Bolt’s work together, they have slowly molded improvised jams which sometimes take years to develop on the road. The song “Halloween 3” may sound familiar to fans who have seen the band live in the last 15 years, and is named after a popular video of the duo performing an early version of the song. Sonic Citadel, however, also prominently features songs which began as solo recordings, be it a Black Pus 4-track recording or a series of looped bass figures from Gibson. In the four years between album releases, each member’s increasingly prolific creative endeavors limited their time to create together. Brian Gibson was the sole artist, musician and co-designer of the acclaimed video game Thumper, which has since proliferated across a multitude of platforms, and won countless awards including the 2019 Apple Design Award. Brian Chippendale, who has always created the band’s visual art, released the graphic novel Puke Force, was included in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time,” and recently collaborated with fashion designers Eckhaus Latta. Coupled with their consistent touring, as well as Chippendale recently becoming a father, the duo took the challenge of their time constraints head on as a compositional tool. By keeping some songs more direct and focusing on their central ideas, the duo managed to increase the overall intensity of their music while leaving space to for the songs to breath and stretch out live.

The impact that Lightning Bolt has had on underground music since its inception is immense, and remains pervasive beyond any genre tag that has been attached to them. Sonic Citadel is the work of band unafraid to challenge themselves, unbound by expectations, joyfully defiant, and possessed of the same inventive curiosity which set them apart on day one and is unmatched still 25 years later.

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released October 11, 2019

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Lightning Bolt Providence, Rhode Island

This is the home of the official Lightning Bolt Practice of the Month club. Probably more like Practice of the Every 6 Months Club, but the plan is to post some of our best home recorded jams for your listening pleasure, or displeasure. And fuck it we'll put some of our regular records up here too. ... more

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