Brian Gibson (of Lightning Bolt) to Release Soundtrack for New Game THRASHER; Shares Single

Artist and composer Brian Gibson (bassist of the legendary band Lightning Bolt) has announced his new solo album, the soundtrack to his new original game of the same name, Thrasher.

Along with the album's announcement, Gibson has shared first single "Mica II", a riff-laden soundscape that harkens back to the trance-inflected movements of Lightning Bolt’s Hypermagic Mountain and surges with synth pulses and flute motifs.

Brian Gibson is an artist and composer whose career is defined by uncompromising creativity. As the bassist for legendary duo Lightning Bolt or as a composer and artist on video games, Gibson consistently tests boundaries by injecting wonder and excitement into his singular body of work. Gibson’s 2016 release Thumper, produced by Drool, was an award-winning smash hit game and soundtrack. Thrasher is Gibson’s triumphant return to VR, a fantastical whirlwind co-created with Mike Mandell via their partnership Puddle. The soundtrack harnesses Gibson’s otherworldly visions with bright musical clarity, trading the “rhythmic violence” of Thumper for expansive and sublime atmospheres punctured by cascading, serpentine arpeggios embodied by otherworldly creatures.

Gibson and Mandel call the game “a mind-melting arcade action odyssey and visceral audiovisual experience.” The game was designed as an immersive virtual reality experience following a kind of evolving space centipede from “crawling from the depths of primordial gloom to the heights of celestial bliss, culminating in a heart-pounding reckoning with a cosmic baby god.” Gibson’s start in game designing began at Harmonix working on tentpole titles like Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Thrasher breaks from Gibson’s history in rhythm-centered games. Arpeggiated synths and undulating textural loops mimic the segmented art style of the centipede, as well as the game’s more open and nuanced emotional core. Through these intricate sequences, Gibson imbues the soundtrack’s ceaseless propulsion with melodic mystery and tensions. Thrasher’s soundtrack is driven equally by adventurous, ambitious curiosity and inventive and highly skilled musicianship. Captivating visuals of wintry landscapes, thrilling boss fights, and deep dives into fantastical vistas are enhanced and expanded by Brian Gibson’s uniquely inventive and expansive music. Thrasher synthesizes feeling and motion into a profound, all-encompassing atmosphere, an electrifying experience to engulf oneself in.

Brian Gibson - Thrasher (Original Soundtrack) tracklist

1. Metal Maze

2. Magenta Machine

3. Monolith

4. Mist

5. Mica

6. Timekeepers

7. Metal Maze II

8. Maelstrom

9. Melting Menace

10. Magma Skull

11. Mica II

12. Mad Moon

Photo credit: Scott Alario

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