Lords

Both. Guns. Blazing. There's simply no other way to describe Louisville, KY trio Lords. The group's frenetic tunes, which rarely top the two minute mark, can only be compared to three Wild West bandits riding atop a horde of stampeding buffalo, throwing molotov cocktails into a crowded subway station...and that's only what they sound like on wax!

Combining the punkier moments of the Melvins with the bone-rattling riffage of a cracked-out Thin Lizzy, the intense self-loathing of My War-era Black Flag, the compositional ambition of Webern, and that local Louisville flavor that's all the rage these days (Black Cross, Breather Resist, Coliseum, etc.) to create a sound so densely packed, Lords sound like they're constantly about to burst at the seams.

Singer/guitarist Chris Owens belts out incomprehensible diatribes like someone just dropped a cinderblock on his foot while knocking out riffs faster than the natural forces of gravity should allow. Bassist Tony Bailey and drummer Stan Doll are locked in so tightly you couldn't-- to paraphrase Joe Strummer-- put a cigarette paper in between 'em.

True, some of the songs on Swords (Jade Tree) tend to sound a bit samey at first but the subtleties shine upon repeated listens. And at 13 songs in 20 minutes, you'll need to reach for that 'repeat' button to digest the sheer amount of information crammed into these microscopic spaces.

"Stigmata Rites" is a great example of the patented Lords approach: skewed Foghat riffs collide head-on with lightning fast hardcore tempos while some nifty, subtle time changes keep you slightly off-balance. Naturally, it's all over in about 87 seconds.

Official Site
Myspace Page
Lambgoat Interview

Mp3s:

Stigmata Rites
More Mp3s here