Ride the Skies

Album Review

When you break it down to the nitty-gritty, 99% of musicians who compose their own material are trying to do one of two things. The majority attempt to form songs, and of course there are a million different theories about what makes a good song, in terms on length, structure, aesthetic considerations, and so on. There are others, however, who have no real ambition to write songs in the traditional sense. Their goals are better described by the two-word term "sound bombardment." Artists who strive for this noble aim attempt to concoct original combinations of noise bursts to stimulate an audience in such a way that they will reconsider the way they look at music. The aptly named Lightning Bolt, a drums/bass duo from Providence, RI, falls into the latter category. Ride the Skies is a rhythmic explosion of distorted guitar solos and hurried drums. Most tracks give off the effect of a driver's education student stepping on the accelerator and brake at the same time. Start, burst, stop. Repeat. It's explosive, heavy, exciting, and rushed, and then it all stops. And starts again. Patterns are made and then immediately broken. A hard nut to crack, but an original listening experience. For open-minded listeners only.