Lightning Bolt Essentials

Lightning Bolt roared out of Rhode Island's experimental underground in the early '90s, bringing punk rock's playful energy to extreme noise. Playing with the sweaty intensity of basement-show vets, bassist Brian Gibson lets loose with a dizzying barrage of fearsomely distorted but surprisingly catchy riffs, and drummer Brian Chippendale bashes out high-speed beats that blur the line between hardcore's skate-or-die attack and free jazz's disorienting squall. The two Brians also stay busy outside of Lightning Bolt, putting in time with even noisier outfits like Black Pus and Mindflayer.