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Released on March 23, 2015 via Thrill Jockey
There are moments of clarity and distinction in a lifetime when a person changes from what they once were to something entirely different, usually for the better. We say they have been hit by the lightning bolt. With Fantasy Empire, Providence’s noise rock combo Lightning Bolt have clocked themselves squarely in the kisser and made their best and most accessible album yet. In doing so, the focus and ACTUAL RECORDING IN A PROPER STUDIO WITH HIFI EQUIPMENT has meant they have also presented us with an incredible beast of an album that will be one of the year’s best. It’s been three long years since Lightning Bolt gave us the traumatic Oblivion Hunter, but they haven’t been resting. Drummer/vocalist Brian Chippendale has been pumping out Black Pus releases and making various collaborations while bassist Brian Gibson has been…umm…developing a video game.
I had absolutely no inkling of a new Lightning Bolt album, let alone any idea that they would eschew the usual lo-fi recording to fully embrace studio technology. For years, Lightning Bolt have infuriated me by refusing to acknowledge song structure, though recent Black Pus outings would suggest a sea change in Chippendale’s vision. Here we are now though, with a Lightning Bolt album that has (whisper it) what you would really have to succumb to calling, proper songs. Of course, if you’ve never experienced the aural assault that Lightning Bolt actually is, you’ll still be screaming “WHAT THE FUCK?!!!!” on first listen to Fantasy Empire. But to those of us who’ve been “enjoying” their output for years, this is basically ‘Captain Caveman’ times ten. In other words, you’re going to be able to hum along to pretty much all of this album.
The familiar frenetic pace and dirty fuzzy growling guitars (or possibly busted lawnmowers) crank up with opener ‘The Metal East’. Chippendale’s beats are as manic as ever, but appear more controlled, Lightning Bolt have got serious this time. A song. Proper production. This album is going to be a blast if it keeps this up. Of course, after such conformity, the song ends in hideous, chaotic, spleen smashing feedback terror. Glorious.
Chippendale decides the drums didn’t get fucked over enough in the opening track so diligently sets about kicking the absolute shit out of them in ‘Over the River and Through the Woods’. There’s a three second moment of guitar work that sounds like chords, it makes a rare and infrequent appearance. I call that a chorus. Mainstream! Sell-out! Boo! As if. The slamming mid-section will have you head banging with unbridled joy. Luckily, it turns out not to be a mid-section but the latter half of the song. Chippendale’s vocal yelps actually forming hooks and melody. The first track was no red herring.
With ‘Horsepower’, the guitars seem muted initially, almost back in 4-track territory, but then a massive wave of guitars rolls in to beef up the incessant galloping riff. The track is aptly named and the riff at the end is fucking Clydesdale sized. (I like to think this track alludes to my alter ego Lightning Bolt tribute act). There’s a resounding roar of defiance against conformity with the recall to old days sonic terror that is ‘King of My World’. The updated production makes it more tangible though, kind of reminds me of Radiohead’s recent output, only replacing the electronics with a two stringed bass and a couple of busted pedals.
‘Mythmaster’ opens slowly with the hefty beating of toms and none of those ominous rattling snares. Chippendale mumbles in the background before the chorus splatters into life, a reverse helter skelter of ascending notes. It’s an engaging track that ends in a seriously heavy machine gun kick drum massacre. This is what Chippendale was saving himself for with the tardy start. After a circus ringmaster intro to ‘Runaway Train’, a circular and intensely heavy riff squares up to thunderous drums. Feedback gives the track an ear splitting and headphone busting menace. There’s a serious groove going on though. A moment of quiet appears with ‘Leave the Lantern Lit’, one and a half minutes of sickening sounds, distorted and twisted beyond official lullaby regulations. You’d think by now the Brian’s would be entering into the territory marked end-of-album-do-what-you-want-soundscapes, but the quality remains high and two of the best tracks end the show bursting with huge grooves and structured format. In ‘Dream Genie’ Gibson rips out some metal solos that are melodic, shocking and something Yngwie Malmsteen would be proud of. Of course, Gibson’s effort lasts about 10 seconds rather than a whole album of noodling.
Album closer and all-out epic ‘Snow White (& the 7 Dwarves Fans)’ begins with a delicate (by Lightning Bolt standards) intro before the shovels are employed to hammer the drums along with then industrial strength guitars which really do benefit from the studio production. You have to ask how two people can concoct such volume, overdubs aside, they’ll replicate this live with relative ease. Almost something of a two-parter, the end of the track allows Chippendale the time to let loose on the drums and his vocals fill the airspace with some out there hollering. Mutating into a slow jam, the groove grinds and bumps into a jazzy rhythm. Old habits die hard as the track ends with a full-on drum splurge and feedback wipe-out.
As I have mentioned before, there’s much to marvel with Lightning Bolt, these guys are brilliant exponents of their instruments. Brian Chippendale is one of the finest drummers in the world, a violent octopus of rhythm and hyperactive timing. Brian Gibson is playing a knackered 2-string bass guitar and making it sound like three 6-string guitarists. His effortless grooves and intricate twists and turns collide with Chippendale’s percussion to make a startling sound that constantly challenges. For years, they have astounded me but equally enraged me as their albums drifted aimlessly at times, noise for the sake of it. With Fantasy Empire, they really hit the spot, fully focussed and determined, these songs, and we can truly label them songs, must surely reach out to a wider audience. I still haven’t caught the band live, one of those things to do before you die. Or before one of the band members has a heart attack performing this utterly exhilarating and intriguing music. Out-fucking-standing.
