Black Pus (6 Albums, 21 Tracks)

Brian Chippendale's solo project builds on his explosive free-drum, telephone-mic-in-the-mouth masked attack. Outside of the Lightning Bolt/Mindflayer context, Chippendale grows a few extra limbs to handle saxophone, synth, and/or guitar. The project started out as harsh, feedback-laden primordial ooze. His newer material shapes more structured songs out of the muck. Take "Body on the Tide", the closing track to this year's excellent All Aboard the Magic Pus, which features a disarmingly clean and catchy whistle solo. -Jason Sigal