There’s one question that Lightning Bolt fans ask after the release of a new album from the noise-rock legends: Have they chilled out? And the answer universally hoped for is a resounding: Nope. Across seven albums since 1999, the bass guitar/ drum duo of Brian Gibson and Brian Chippendale have unleashed hell in the form of unrelenting, punishing noise—warp-speed, doomsday riffing and Chippendale’s impossibly complex drumming, all with an unsettling, psychedelic bent. These songs seize and writhe and whip into an instant tornado; all you can do is hold on. They’re back for album seven with Sonic Citadel, their first since 2015. And to answer the question above: No, naturally, they have not chilled out. Even their name is lethal. The album opener is called “Blow to the Head,” and it begins with violence descending—explosive low-end and Chippendale beating his kit into submission. “Big Banger” is also truth in advertising, with some of Gibson’s fastest, most visceral riffing ever. But they do broaden their colorful palette a bit; picture “Don Henley in the Park” and “All Insane” merely as moments to let your pulse return to a healthy clip. The former’s dreamy vocal melody and winding, whimsical guitar takes a page from Animal Collective; that the vocals are near the top of the mix is, in itself, a Lightning Bolt experiment. The latter is the closest to a straight rock-and-roll song that the duo has made, without any true tantrums. Is this Lightning Bolt’s bid for the mainstream? No. Radio would never touch this. But to see them experimenting, while never losing the plot, is a true victory.