Gotta give this one up to Bitchfork. Didn’t know Lightning Bolt’s bassist Brian Gibson had a side project called Wizardzz, where he proves himself to be as sick a drummer as he is a bassist. Some guys get all the luck. Rich Porter adds synths and keys, and it all sounds like Lightning Can.

So why is one geek excited? Because Lightning Bolt’s latest record felt overkill-y, as if the prime moment had passed for the greatest thing to happen to ‘metal’ since Ride the Lightning was released by you-know-who (hint – they haven’t been tolerable since 1987). Some good new ideas on a few tracks, like the starrynight speed guitar three minutes into “Dead Cowboy,” but overall no triumph.

Concert recollection: Either autumn 2003 or 2004, I attended a Lightning Bolt show in Bed Sty. Japanther, White Mice, and some other forgotten heroes, all together in an illegal loft for $5. As the de facto headliner, LB erupted from a corner of the loft around midnight, in gas mask and ski mask, and I had to climb a freestanding floor-to-ceiling pipe just to survive. I was skinnier then, what can I say.

And that makes me cool, for, like, you know, forever.

From the Load records website (go there and spend big like the Prez):
Wizardzz – live
Wizzardz – whispers from walface