Lightning Bolt played The Brooklyn Monarch

The lords of noise, Lightning Bolt, decimated The Brooklyn Monarch with deafening power and brutal force.

Ripping right into "The Metal East" and coming in at decibels set to shatter eardrums, Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson rained down their extreme audio assault with serious fortitude and unabashed intensity. The brutal bass line thundering down on the crowd while the jackhammer-style drumming revving the collective engine was a true tour-de-force that unleashed an absolute explosive form of energy from the crowd. Playing on the floor and in the round, it was an all encompassing experience that kept the band and the crowd engaged throughout the set with Chippendale regularly checking to make sure people stayed safe despite the chaos erupting from the pit. Security also had to keep asking fans to get down from the speakers that surrounded the band, distributing their sonic blast at every angle. "Air Conditioning" was another massive attack full or earsplitting noise that set thing through the roof as the crowd began to rage harder and harder, making the night one of absolute pandemonium and entertainment. Flailing about in dizzying fashion, the drummer's relentless display of pure insanity is unmatched and it's a wonder to see in action especially in conjuncture with his bandmate's esteemed chill. Gazing around with his stoic stance and effortless bass playing, Gibson is the balanced showman in comparison to his partner's hectic, spasm-like style of drumming. The delayed vocals and terrifying wall of sound created a cacophony of lethal sounds that transcended to new heights. For over twenty years Lightning Bolt have been the pinnacle of noise and experimental sounds playing with metal and hardcore acts from around the world and making some of the most extreme music at the same time. Two decades into it, they're just as powerful and forceful as ever, setting off a crowd like few others can and making for some of the most intense shows of the year. Loud as hell and full of tremendous rage, the band is a prime example of how to hold your own and come to define your sound and scene and ascend to one of the bests to churn out such beloved noise. What some could view as a form of unapologetic forms of extreme punishment, others endure through the lens of sublime sonic wonder that obliterates the competition and puts them in a realm of beautiful noise. A highlight in an unsuspecting form that for the correct crowd can burst like a sonic boom and result in monumental bliss.