See Lightning Bolt’s Kaleidoscopic Fantasy World in ‘Metal East’ Video
Noise-rock pugilists Lightning Bolt turn on, tune in and drop out for their psychedelic, kaleidoscopic “The Metal East” video. Its scrolling, Masters of the Universe-like animations play off the duo’s frenetic energy throughout the song, which appears on their recently released sixth LP, Fantasy Empire. New York City-based animator and illustrator Lale Westvind made the video, which fittingly premiered during Adult Swim Sunday night and precedes the band’s upcoming U.S. tour kicking off April 15th.
When bassist Brian Gibson and drummer Brian Chippendale began work on the record, their first to come out in six years, they aimed to make a recording that reflected the sound and feel of how they perform live – “which is really intense,” as Gibson told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “I’m standing right in front of my speaker, so I’m just hearing so much that I think a lot of people in the audience don’t even hear,” he said.
In the time since the duo last put out new music, Chippendale has released several solo albums under the name Black Pus, while Gibson has been developing a racing- and music-themed video game in a genre he calls “rhythm violence.” Although the Lightning Bolt members made recordings together in that time, it just wasn’t up to snuff. “Some of the [last six years] was just us banging our head against the same wall and not getting new results,” Chippendale told Rolling Stone. “We’re, like, a simple band, and it’s about things working simply. It’s very simple to be like, ‘Ah, let’s work on it tomorrow, maybe.’ So, it was a pile of simple things that got in the way.” Eventually the band settled on the confrontational sound fidelity that suited them best and made Fantasy Empire.