Hypermagic Mountain
by Lightning Bolt
  • Record Label: Load
  • Release Date: Oct 18, 2005
User Score
6.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 106 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 72 out of 106
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 106
  3. Negative: 31 out of 106

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  1. DavidT
    Jun 8, 2006
    0
    You can easily get the same effect without leaving your own home! Place a large metallic receptacle (bucket or cooking pot) over your head and bang with a large mallet repeatedly. For best results turn on every appliance in your house and leave running whilst doing this. Voila! A droning, masochistic waste of time!
  2. ptowns
    Oct 30, 2005
    2
    no thanks, just nothing there i liked
  3. MarkS
    Jan 16, 2006
    2
    This isn't music, it's noise. And it's "indie" for a reason.
  4. MattD
    Dec 19, 2006
    0
    Proof that hipsters will buy into anything.
  5. Matt
    Nov 5, 2005
    3
    I give it 3 points because this music has its place in the music world. But I don't hear the melody, and it grates on me a lot. Might have been a bit better with stronger vocals.
  6. GarethM
    Jun 1, 2006
    0
    Shocking. This isn't music.
  7. ToniC.
    Oct 31, 2005
    0
    it's not music. it's just noise.
  8. MarkR
    Oct 30, 2005
    1
    Intense is not the same as good. Where are the hooks and the melody that u can return too?
  9. MichaelM
    Jan 20, 2006
    0
    A pretentious barrage of noise, and badly mastered. I'm amazed by people jumping on the bandwagon claiming this will expand your mind, all it really does is give you perspective on how bad an over-hyped album can be.
  10. FredR
    Feb 8, 2006
    0
    Thought this would an eye-opening album. Tame riffs over drums which have been pushed into the backround wrapped in whining distorted vocals. A mediocre and unimaginitive album.
  11. bolisj
    Apr 16, 2006
    1
    I guess this forum gets mostly polarised posts from 'reviewers', but I was quite intrigued to find so many bad reviews for a record that rated so highly among the music press...so I thought I should check it out for myself. Well, it's true: this is an almost totally self-indulgent, pretentious, cacophonic mess. If you think firing a shotgun full of paint pellets onto a I guess this forum gets mostly polarised posts from 'reviewers', but I was quite intrigued to find so many bad reviews for a record that rated so highly among the music press...so I thought I should check it out for myself. Well, it's true: this is an almost totally self-indulgent, pretentious, cacophonic mess. If you think firing a shotgun full of paint pellets onto a canvas is art, you might dig this to … Expand
  12. AngelaM
    May 23, 2006
    1
    I don't know what happened to the various reviewers and online critics, but this is the worst album I have ever heard. I think those who are rating this album highly are doing so in a pathetic attempt to differentiate themselves in an admittedly stagnant world
  13. jubjubpoooop
    Oct 25, 2005
    0
    hated it!
  14. JohnK
    Dec 6, 2005
    0
    Utterly ridiculous.
  15. chrisg
    Oct 26, 2006
    0
    Are ya freakin' kiddin me? A TOP 10 Album of the year? This sounds like the aborted love-child of Marilyn Manson and an Al Quaeda beheading...
  16. TheRealAlfonsodeBong
    Feb 28, 2006
    1
    The recorded sound of a transit van decanting band and instruments onto the motorway at high speed. An true experiment in musical endurance.
  17. [Anonymous]
    Feb 5, 2006
    1
    I wouldn't even call this music, it's just noise, and not a good noise either.
  18. StephenK
    Apr 11, 2006
    0
    I've listened to this album many times in different settings, moods and seasons. I've searched long and hard for depth and the appeal that these guys seem to have and found nothing. A pretentious band for conceited listeners. Pathetic.
  19. RyanK
    Apr 24, 2006
    0
    People who rate this album highly are pretentious posers. Listen to this album to hear the sound of a band disappearing up its own ass.
  20. DeanF
    May 17, 2006
    0
    A great example of the sounds on the periphery, and what a sorry state music as a whole is in.
  21. WilsonP
    May 22, 2006
    0
    Sounds like twelve year olds making noise in their basement.
  22. PhilBrontly
    May 25, 2006
    0
    What a waste of time.
  23. JodyK
    May 26, 2006
    0
    Really, really bad album.
  24. FredD
    May 31, 2006
    0
    Really bad album.
  25. luke
    Aug 13, 2006
    1
    what the !@#$%^^$@@$!##@%#%@!!????
  26. CanadianPhilosopher
    Nov 2, 2005
    0
    Absolute garbage. Unlistenable. A waste of bandwidth.
  27. PetterA
    Dec 20, 2005
    0
    I can also play every instrument at the same time in no order. This isn´t music, this is noice.
  28. FredK
    Dec 28, 2005
    0
    Having bought this album and listened to it repeatedly, I can confidently say that initially it sounds like a convoluted mess, and eventually one realises that there is no real complexity behind the music. Simply a self indulgent waste of talent, time and money.
  29. AndrewC
    Dec 9, 2005
    1
    Wow....i often wonder whether these reviewers aren't just looking for something totally out of the ordinary to which they will commend. And of course most listeners, after checking their fav mag review, will follow in suit to say that, as d palm has commented, "this is really messed up. .... I like it." Its all noise to me....

Awards & Rankings

5
#5 Best Album of 2005
44
#44 Most Discussed Album of 2005
52
#52 Most Shared Album of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Universal acclaim - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 23 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Tiny Mix Tapes
    100
    This is a great record, if it is a record.
    Read full review
  2. AllMusic
    90
    At its most chaotic, Hypermagic Mountain could tear open a wormhole into Comets on Fire's Blue Cathedral.
    Read full review
  3. Dusted Magazine
    90
    Essentially, the Brians don't really need to innovate that much anymore and instead are just fine-tuning their craft in glorious ways.
    Read full review
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